Description

Improper control of generation of code ('code injection') in Visual Studio Code allows an unauthorized attacker to execute code over a network.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "8.8",
  "pubDate": "2026-08-11T17:19:11.277Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-08-11T17:19:11.277Z",
  "executiveSummary": "An improper control of generation of code vulnerability, commonly classified as code injection, has been identified in Visual Studio Code. This security flaw enables an unauthorized remote attacker to execute arbitrary code over a network within the context of the affected application.\nThe vulnerability directly impacts the Visual Studio Code product ecosystem, exposing development environments and host systems to potential compromise. The risk implications are severe, as successful exploitation could lead to unauthorized system access, data exfiltration, or lateral movement within the compromised network.\nThe attacker capabilities include remote code execution without requiring prior authentication or specialized user interaction beyond network accessibility to the vulnerable component. Exploitation relies on the application's failure to properly sanitize or control the generation of executable code constructs derived from untrusted network inputs.\nOrganizations utilizing the affected software face significant operational and security risks, necessitating immediate attention to remediation guidance, system hardening, and adherence to established secure configuration baselines to thwart potential exploitation vectors.",
  "technicalDetails": "The root cause of the vulnerability stems from improper control of generation of code, which allows externally influenced data to be incorrectly interpreted as executable instructions or dynamic code blocks by the underlying architecture of Visual Studio Code.\nThe vulnerable component is responsible for processing input streams and translating them into operational commands or internal runtime structures. Due to insufficient input validation, sanitization, and contextual escaping, malicious payloads injected over a network can bypass safety checks.\nThe attack flow commences when an unauthorized remote attacker crafts a malicious input payload designed to exploit the code generation mechanism. This payload is transmitted over the network to the target system running Visual Studio Code.\nUpon receipt, the vulnerable component processes the tainted input without applying adequate restrictions on code generation. Consequently, the application dynamically constructs and executes the injected payload in memory or via underlying system interpreters.\nThe network exposure of the service facilitates remote exploitation without requiring local access, authentication credentials, or elevated privilege requirements from the attacker perspective. The payload behavior dictates post-exploitation impact, which typically encompasses arbitrary command execution, access to local filesystem resources, manipulation of development workspaces, and potential persistence mechanisms on the host machine.\nSubsequent post-exploitation activities leverage the execution context of the vulnerable process, potentially granting the adversary extensive capabilities to compromise adjacent systems, steal sensitive source code, or deploy secondary malware payloads across the affected infrastructure."
}