Executive brief
GitHub Copilot and Visual Studio Code are widely used development tools that assist engineers in writing and managing code. A security vulnerability in these tools could allow an attacker to bypass security protections by injecting malicious data through the network. If exploited, this could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive source code, data theft, or the compromise of the developer's workstation.
Technical details
A downstream injection vulnerability (CWE-74) exists in GitHub Copilot and Visual Studio Code due to improper neutralization of special elements in output. An unauthenticated attacker can exploit this over the network, though it requires some level of user interaction (UI:R). The flaw allows an attacker to bypass security features, potentially leading to a total loss of confidentiality, integrity, and availability on the affected system. Microsoft has addressed the issue in Visual Studio Code, with versions prior to 1.128.1 being noted as affected in updated advisories.
Affected products
- Microsoft Visual Studio Code < 1.128.1
- GitHub GitHub Copilot All versions prior to fix
Timeline
- 2026-05-12: disclosed
- 2026-05-12: advisory: Initial advisory published by Microsoft
- 2026-07-14: patched: Updated version information provided for Visual Studio Code