Visual Studio Code: Remote code execution in serve-web request router
Summary
A flaw in the serve-web request router of Visual Studio Code allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to execute code. The vulnerability is rated high by the CNA (CVSS 3.1 8.3), and the CVE record describes improper access control. Exploitation requires high attack complexity and user interaction, and the risk is highest where serve-web is reachable from the network.
Affected
- Microsoft Visual Studio Code from 1.0.0 before 1.145.3 (CVE record; the lower bound 1.0.0 is unverified)
- GitHub advisory states VS Code 1.145.2 and earlier are affected
Fixed in
- Visual Studio Code 1.145.3 and later
Workaround
- No vendor-published workaround.
- Until 1.145.3 is installed, stop serve-web or browser-hosted VS Code instances that are not needed.
- Do not expose serve-web to the internet.
Exploitation
- No evidence of exploitation in the wild found.
- Not listed as KEV.
- Public proof-of-concept: Unknown.
Our recommendation
- Update Visual Studio Code to 1.145.3 or later on developer workstations and servers.
- Check whether serve-web or any browser-hosted VS Code instance is running, especially on shared machines or servers.
- Block network access to serve-web and do not expose it to the internet.
- Monitor for unusual processes started from VS Code and review logs of exposed instances.
Information from Microsoft (Patch Tuesday November 2026)
Public exploits
PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit and Exploit-DB list nothing for this CVE.
Research sources
- CVE Record CVE-2026-120780 www.cve.org
- Microsoft Security Update Guide msrc.microsoft.com
- GitHub issue 347429 github.com
- Strix CVE-2026-120780 www.strix.ai
- Rapid7 Patch Tuesday November 2026 www.rapid7.com
Researched and written up in English and German by an AI (Claude by Anthropic) based on NVD, CISA, EPSS and the sources listed. The vendor information is authoritative. Researched on 11 Nov 2026, 01:23.
Original description (NVD)
Improper access control in Visual Studio Code allows an unauthorized attacker to execute code over a network.
NVD references (1)
Sources
The tracker combines official, freely usable data sources – updated continuously:
- NVD (NIST) – CVEs, rating (CVSS), affected products
- CISA KEV – vulnerabilities confirmed by CISA as actively exploited
- CISA Vulnrichment – CISA assessment (SSVC) in the official CVE record
- FIRST EPSS – probability of exploitation
- Microsoft MSRC – Patch Tuesday: vulnerabilities, severity, updates
- PoC-in-GitHub – public proof-of-concept repositories
- Metasploit (Rapid7) – modules of the Metasploit Framework
- Exploit-DB (OffSec) – archive of public exploits (links only)
- Patch days: official vendor pages (linked per vendor) (Vendor patch days)
This product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS data © FIRST.org.
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