Visual Studio Code: Security feature bypass
Summary
A trust boundary violation in Microsoft Visual Studio Code allows an unauthorized attacker to bypass a security feature over a network. The CNA rates it CVSS 8.8 (High), and the vulnerability changes the scope of impact. Exploitation requires a user action such as opening a folder or link. The official record does not describe the impact in detail, so an impact on confidentiality and integrity should be assumed.
Affected
- Microsoft Visual Studio Code from 1.0.0 before 1.145.3
Fixed in
- Version 1.145.3 according to the CNA record. Not yet independently confirmed.
- Do not treat 1.145.2 as the fix.
Workaround
- No vendor workaround found.
- Interim measure (not vendor guidance): keep untrusted folders in Restricted Mode and avoid opening unknown repositories or links.
- Install extensions only from trusted publishers.
Exploitation
- No evidence of exploitation in the wild.
- CVE.org lists exploit maturity as Unproven (E:U).
- A third-party tracker lists the CVE as not in KEV.
- No public proof of concept found.
Our recommendation
- Confirm version 1.145.3 on the MSRC advisory, then update all Visual Studio Code installations, prioritising developer endpoints.
- Check which Visual Studio Code versions are deployed in your company.
- Keep untrusted folders in Restricted Mode and avoid unknown repositories and links until patched.
- Monitor the MSRC advisory for changes.
Information from Microsoft (Patch Tuesday November 2026)
Public exploits
PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit and Exploit-DB list nothing for this CVE.
Research sources
- MSRC Security Update Guide: CVE-2026-121665 msrc.microsoft.com
- CVE.org CVE Record: CVE-2026-121665 www.cve.org
- Strix: CVE-2026-121665 www.strix.ai
- VS Code 1.145 release notes code.visualstudio.com
- VS Code Workspace Trust documentation code.visualstudio.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 10 Nov 2026, 21:26.
Original description (NVD)
Trust boundary violation in Visual Studio Code allows an unauthorized attacker to bypass a security feature 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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