High 7.1Published Oct 20, 2026

CVE-2026-113718virtualenv: Xonsh activation literals depend on the script decoding codec

Updated under an hour ago (Oct 28, 2026, 8:10 AM ET)

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It affects pypa virtualenv. Add what you run to find out whether that includes you.

EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.18%, higher than 7% of scored CVEs.

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Exploited in the last 30 days

virtualenv is a tool for creating isolated virtual python environments. Prior to 21.14.9, POSIX xonsh activation quote() uses repr() to write printable non-ASCII prompt or destination data into UTF-8 activate.xsh, while xonsh can read that script using $XONSH_ENCODING. Under a legacy multibyte codec such as GBK or Big5, a UTF-8 trail byte can consume the backslash before an adjacent quote, allowing the literal to close and attacker-influenced statements to execute when the user sources the generated script. This issue is fixed in version 21.14.9.

CVSS: 7.1 HIGH (v4.0, CNA)CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Weakness (CWE): CWE-94
Known exploited: Not in CISA's KEV catalog
EPSS (exploitation in the next 30 days): 0.18% (percentile 7)
Assigned by: GitHub_M
NVD analysis: Awaiting Analysis
Record last updated: Oct 27, 2026
First seen by InfoSec Signals: Oct 20, 2026

Affected products

Affected products

pypa virtualenv pypa:virtualenv (from the name)	before 21.14.9	CNA record

References

References

https://github.com/pypa/virtualenv/security/advisories/GHSA-394h-qwmc-48pf	x-refsource-confirm
https://github.com/pypa/virtualenv/pull/3432	x-refsource-misc
https://github.com/pypa/virtualenv/commit/e5fc2e6e189a877ff559af288919e3525d13e5e0	x-refsource-misc
https://github.com/pypa/virtualenv/releases/tag/21.14.9	x-refsource-misc

The CVE record on cve.org NVD's entry

The CVE record is authoritative. Products marked “from the name” were identified from the CNA's free-text names, not a CPE, and are matched less certainly. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.