CVE-2026-121665: Visual Studio Code Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability
CVE-2026-121665 is a security feature bypass vulnerability in Visual Studio Code, rated Important by Microsoft, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8 (High). An attacker can exploit it remotely over the network, without any privileges and only if a user takes an action. Microsoft has not reported exploitation in the wild and rates exploitation as less likely. Microsoft released the fix on 10 November 2026 in the November 2026 Patch Tuesday. It affects 1 product in 1 product family (Developer Tools).
Key facts
- CVE ID
- CVE-2026-121665
- Severity
- High CVSS 8.8
- Microsoft severity
- Important
- Impact
- Security Feature Bypass
- Exploited in the wild
- No
- Publicly disclosed
- No
- Exploitation likelihood
- Less Likely
- Weakness
- CWE-501
- CISA KEV
- Not listed
- Released
- Last updated
- Patch Tuesday
- November 2026 Patch Tuesday
- Product families
- Developer Tools
CVSS score and vector
Microsoft scores CVE-2026-121665 at 8.8 (temporal 7.7) using CVSS 3.1. Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:H/A:L/E:U/RL:O/RC:C
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Attack vector | Network |
| Attack complexity | Low |
| Privileges required | None |
| User interaction | Required |
| Scope | Changed |
| Confidentiality impact | Low |
| Integrity impact | High |
| Availability impact | Low |
| Exploit code maturity | Unproven |
| Remediation level | Official fix |
| Report confidence | Confirmed |
Description
Trust boundary violation in Visual Studio Code allows an unauthorized attacker to bypass a security feature over a network.
Frequently asked questions (Microsoft)
How could an attacker exploit this vulnerability?
An attacker could convince a user to open a specially crafted Visual Studio Code workspace and click an attacker-controlled notification. Successful exploitation could bypass Workspace Trust protections and allow commands to run in the context of the user without the user granting trust. The attacker does not require authentication.
What security feature could be bypassed by successfully exploiting this vulnerability?
Successful exploitation could allow an untrusted workspace to apply settings that should be blocked by Visual Studio Code's Workspace Trust protections. The user must open the attacker-controlled workspace.
Affected products (1)
Developer Tools
| Product | Security update | Type | Fixed build | Restart |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visual Studio Code | Release Notes | Security Update | 1.145.3 |
NIST NVD data
- NVD status
- Awaiting Analysis
- NVD CVSS
- 8.8 (HIGH)
- NVD weakness
- CWE-501
- Published to NVD
- NVD last modified
References
Acknowledgments
Revision history
| Version | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | Information published. |