EUVD-2026-36556Severity by source
AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:L
Local-only TOCTOU race (AV:L/AC:H), requires existing session process (PR:L) and file transfer interaction (UI:R); writes cause integrity harm but no confidentiality loss.
Primary rating from Vendor (github).
CVSS VectorVendor: github
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:L
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
Kitty is a cross-platform GPU based terminal. In versions prior to 0.47.2, a local privilege escalation vulnerability exists in kitty's file transmission protocol where a child process running in the terminal can write to arbitrary files on the filesystem by exploiting a TOCTOU (Time-of-Check-Time-of-Use) race condition between symlink validation and file creation. The os.open() call used to create files does not use O_NOFOLLOW, allowing an attacker to create a symlink between the initial stat check and the actual file open, causing the write to follow the symlink to an arbitrary destination. Version 0.47.2 fixes the issue.
AnalysisAI
Arbitrary file write in kitty terminal versions prior to 0.47.2 allows a child process running inside a kitty session to redirect writes to attacker-controlled filesystem paths. The root cause is a missing O_NOFOLLOW flag in the os.open() call within kitty's file transmission protocol: between the initial symlink validation stat-check and the actual file open, an attacker can insert a symlink, causing the write to follow it to an arbitrary destination - a classic TOCTOU race. …
Unlock full vulnerability intelligence
- Risk assessment & exploitation conditions
- Attack chain visualization
- Remediation with exact patch versions
- Threat intelligence from 22 sources
- Personal watchlist & email alerts
Free forever · No credit card required
Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata
Vulnerability AssessmentAI
| Exploitation | Exploitation requires the attacker to have an active child process running inside a kitty terminal session on the target system - this implies local code execution as a low-privileged user (consistent with PR:L). … Additional conditions and limiting factors are described in the full assessment. |
| Risk Assessment | The CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.0 accurately reflects a moderate, contextually constrained risk. … Full risk analysis with EPSS, KEV, and SSVC signal comparison available after sign-in. |
| Exploit Scenario | A malicious or compromised child process running inside a victim's kitty terminal session initiates a file transmission protocol write targeting a benign path. During the brief window between kitty's stat() validation and the os.open() call, the attacker process creates a symlink at that path pointing to a sensitive target such as /etc/cron.d/backdoor or ~/.ssh/authorized_keys. … |
| Remediation | The primary fix is to upgrade kitty to version 0.47.2 or later, which corrects the os.open() call to include the O_NOFOLLOW flag, preventing symlink traversal at file creation time. … Detailed patch versions, workarounds, and compensating controls in full report. |
Threat intelligence, references, and detailed analysis are available after sign-in.
More from same product – last 7 days
Remote code execution in Kitty terminal emulator versions prior to 0.47.0 allows any process or remote peer that can wri
Command injection in Kitty cross-platform GPU terminal emulator versions prior to 0.47.0 allows remote attackers to exec
Code injection in Kitty terminal emulator versions prior to 0.47.3 allows attacker-controlled bytes - including newline
Arbitrary file write in Kitty terminal versions 0.47.0 and 0.47.1 allows a remote drag-and-drop source to overwrite file
Vendor StatusVendor
SUSE
Severity: ModerateShare
External POC / Exploit Code
Leaving vuln.today