Visual Studio Code CVE-2026-102238

Exploitation requires a victim to open attacker-controlled content in Visual Studio Code - a malicious workspace, folder, repository, or project file whose internal pathnames traverse outside the restricted directory (CWE-22), leading to code execution. The primary limiting factor is the required user interaction (UI:R): the attack is not triggered automatically and depends on social engineering to get a developer to open the crafted project in an affected version (1.0.0 up to but not including 1.141.1). No authentication is required of the attacker (PR:N), but the victim-interaction step and the need to deliver crafted content meaningfully constrain real-world exploitation compared to a zero-click remote flaw.

This is a genuinely high-priority flaw that warrants prompt patching, though several real-world signals temper the raw 9.6 score. The CVSS vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H) describes a network-reachable, low-complexity, unauthenticated path traversal that chains to code execution with a scope change and full confidentiality/integrity/availability impact - consistent with the description of an 'unauthorized attacker' executing code over a network. The single most important mitigating signal is UI:R: exploitation requires victim interaction, which for an editor like VS Code almost always means the user opening a malicious workspace, folder, repository, or file. EPSS is not provided, the CVE is NOT in CISA KEV, and no public proof-of-concept is referenced, so there is no evidence of active or at-scale exploitation. The net picture is a high-severity, patch-worthy vulnerability whose real-world risk is gated by the social-engineering step of getting a developer to open attacker-controlled content, rather than a wormable, zero-click internet-facing exposure. Note a mild tension to verify: the CVSS labels this AV:N while the realistic delivery is a victim opening local/remote project content - the 'network' vector reflects attacker-supplied content delivered over a network and consumed by the victim, not direct remote service exploitation.

An attacker crafts a malicious repository, workspace, or project archive containing files whose paths traverse outside the intended directory, then lures a developer into cloning or opening it in Visual Studio Code. When the victim opens the project, the path traversal lets attacker-controlled content be written or executed outside the sandboxed location, resulting in code execution on the developer's machine. No public exploit is identified at time of analysis, and exploitation depends on the user opening the attacker's content (UI:R).