Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessDeliver crafted workspace or file to developer
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DeliveryVictim opens content in VS Code
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ExploitMissing authorization check is bypassed
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ExecutionAttacker code executes as victim
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ImpactCompromise of user data and host
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V8 - Authorization Authorization checks on every request
MITRE ATT&CK
1 technique across 1 tactic: Privilege Escalation The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires local delivery of attacker-controlled content (AV:L) and the victim must actively interact with it - typically opening a crafted workspace, folder, or file in Visual Studio Code (UI:R). No pre-existing privileges or authentication are required (PR:N), and attack complexity is low (AC:L), so once the user opens the malicious content the missing authorization check is bypassed without further conditions. The primary limiting factors are the need for local access and mandatory user interaction, which prevent remote, unattended, or automated mass exploitation; impact is confined to the interacting user's context (S:U). The exact security feature being bypassed is not detailed in the available data and should be confirmed against the Microsoft MSRC advisory. |
| Impact | This is a locally-exploitable missing-authorization flaw (CWE-862) in Visual Studio Code with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8. The vector CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H indicates the attacker needs local access and user interaction, but no prior privileges, and achieves full confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact once triggered - consistent with code execution or a security-feature bypass in the context of the victim user. No EPSS score, CISA KEV listing, POC reference, or SSVC decision data was supplied, so exploitation status is: no public exploit identified at time of analysis. The combination of AV:L and UI:R materially lowers real-world risk relative to the 7.8 score: this is not a remotely wormable, mass-exploitable bug but one requiring the target to open or interact with attacker-controlled content on their own machine. PR:N despite being an authorization bypass is coherent - the flaw itself is the missing access control the attacker abuses, so no credentials are needed. Note a terminology tension: the single tag labels this an 'Authentication Bypass,' whereas CWE-862 and the description ('bypass a security feature') describe an authorization/security-feature bypass - verify intent with Microsoft's advisory. Overall this is a moderate, user-interaction-gated local issue rather than an urgent internet-facing emergency, but given VS Code's enormous install base it still warrants prompt patching. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker crafts a malicious VS Code workspace, project folder, or file and delivers it to a developer (e.g., via a repository, archive, or shared project). When the victim opens it locally, the missing authorization check lets the content bypass an intended security control and run with the victim's privileges, yielding high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact. No public exploit code was identified in the provided data. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 13, 2026
Missing authorization in Visual Studio Code lets a local attacker bypass a security feature once the victim opens attacker-controlled content, such as a crafted workspace, folder, or file, producing high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact (CVSS 3.1 base 7.8, AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H). No pre-existing privileges or authentication are required, but exploitation demands local delivery of the malicious content plus mandatory user interaction, which rules out remote, unattended, or automated mass exploitation. No public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis, and the specific security feature being bypassed is not detailed in the available data and should be confirmed against the Microsoft MSRC advisory.
RemediationAI
No exact fixed version number is included in the provided data, so the authoritative fix must be taken from the Microsoft MSRC update guide at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-102233; administrators should apply the build listed there for their channel and verify the installed version after updating, while end users should allow VS Code to auto-update or install the latest patched release. Because exploitation requires local attacker-controlled content plus user interaction, interim compensating controls are practical: keep untrusted content out of the editor until patched by refusing to open workspaces, folders, or files from untrusted or downloaded sources, and leave Workspace Trust in Restricted Mode for such content - the trade-off is that restricted mode disables extensions, debugging, and task execution, which can break developer workflows. Additional hardening includes running VS Code as a non-privileged user, opening suspicious projects inside a disposable VM or container so any bypass is contained, restricting broad filesystem write/read access for the editor's user account, and monitoring for anomalous file or settings modifications from editor processes; none of these remove the flaw, and all carry the cost of reduced developer convenience. Patch status is therefore best described as available per the vendor advisory, with the specific fixed version to be confirmed from that advisory rather than assumed.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
The root cause is CWE-862 (Missing Authorization): the application fails to verify that the acting principal is permitted to perform an action, so a security control can be circumvented rather than broken cryptographically. Visual Studio Code is an Electron/Node.js-based cross-platform source-code editor whose local attack surface includes workspaces, folder-specific settings, tasks, debug configurations, extension activation, and trust gating for untrusted content. Because the CVSS vector is AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U, the attacker must get content onto the machine or into a location the user opens, and the victim must then actively interact with it - typically by opening a crafted workspace, folder, or file; once that happens the missing authorization check is exceeded without further complexity. The delivered CVE data does not include CPE strings, an EPSS score, KEV status, or a named affected version range, and the description does not identify which security feature is bypassed (candidate areas include workspace trust enforcement or extension/permission gating), so the exact control should be verified in the MSRC update guide. Impact is scoped to the interacting user's context (S:U); the local vector and user-interaction requirement are the primary limits on this flaw.
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Severity by source
AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Local vector with mandatory user interaction (opening crafted content), no privileges needed since the flaw is the missing authorization itself, yielding full user-context CIA impact.
Primary rating from Vendor (microsoft).
CVSS VectorVendor: microsoft
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
Missing authorization in Visual Studio Code allows an unauthorized attacker to bypass a security feature locally.
Executive ViewAI
A high-severity authorization flaw in Microsoft Visual Studio Code allows a local attacker to bypass a security feature and achieve full compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability on any developer workstation where the user opens attacker-supplied content such as a crafted workspace, folder, or file. Because no vendor patch is currently available and the attack requires only that a developer open a malicious project, the exposure spans the entire engineering and DevOps population - the same users who typically hold privileged credentials, source code access, and CI/CD pipeline rights. Leadership should treat this as a workforce-wide endpoint risk requiring immediate interim controls rather than a single-team remediation.
No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis. Interim mitigations: enforce Visual Studio Code workspace trust / restricted mode for untrusted content, disable automatic execution of workspace tasks and untrusted extensions on folder open, block opening of externally sourced workspaces and files, isolate or sandbox untrusted project review on non-privileged hosts, restrict local developer credentials and pipeline tokens, and monitor endpoints for anomalous behaviour originating from Visual Studio Code.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Authentication bypass attacks exploit flaws in the verification mechanisms that control access to systems and applications.
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EUVD-2026-99038
GHSA-2gvj-3p9q-6fgm
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Exploit-DB