High · CVSS 7.1CVE-2026-113718

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

Answer in brief

CVE-2026-113718 records a High severity (CVSS 7.1) vulnerability in virtualenv: Xonsh activation literals depend on the script decoding codec. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. The current feed maps pypa/virtualenv (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.

Analysis pending evidence review

HOL Guard separates source facts from reviewed analysis. See the methodology.

Published Oct 20, 2026Updated Oct 20, 2026Source checked Oct 20, 2026First seen by HOL Oct 20, 2026Material review Oct 20, 2026

Upstream Advisory

Key facts

Risk: High · CVSS 7.1
Exploitation: Not marked as known exploited
Affected software: 1 mapped package or product
Fix availability: Available

Why this deserves its current priority

CVSS is 7.1. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. Treat this as a source-backed prioritization signal, not a statement about your environment.

Analysis status

Analysis pending evidence review

Factual feed record only; HOL analysis is not approved for indexing. Read the methodology.

Affected scope and exposure questions

The current feed maps pypa/virtualenv (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.

Mapped affected packages and fixed versions
Package	Affected range	Fixed version
pypa/virtualenvgeneric	<21.14.9	21.14.9

Recommended response

Check inventory. Check lockfiles and deployed manifests for pypa/virtualenv.
Review the reported fix. Update pypa/virtualenv to 21.14.9 if you use the affected versions. Test the change in a non-production environment first.

Evidence timeline and material changes

Published upstream
Oct 20, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:record
Source modified
Oct 20, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:record
First seen by HOL
Oct 20, 2026

Sources and claim methodology

Upstream source description

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.

Quoted source text, attributed separately from HOL analysis.