Executive brief
Visual Studio Code, a widely used source code editor, contains an incomplete input validation mechanism that allows a local attacker to bypass security features. An attacker with access to the same system can circumvent intended restrictions, potentially exposing sensitive code, configurations, or enabling further compromise of development environments.
Technical details
Visual Studio Code contains an incomplete list of disallowed inputs that fails to properly validate certain input patterns, allowing a local attacker to bypass implemented security features. The vulnerability affects input validation logic, likely in extension handling, script execution, or workspace configuration processing. Attack requires local access to the system running Visual Studio Code. An attacker can craft specific inputs that are not included in the disallowed list to circumvent security restrictions, potentially enabling arbitrary code execution, unauthorized access to workspace data, or other security feature bypasses. Microsoft has released a security update addressing this input validation gap.
Affected products
- Microsoft Visual Studio Code
Timeline
- 2026-09-08: disclosed