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CVE-2026-102937: virtualenv: Command injection via --prompt in activate.bat (batch activator)

GitHub Advisories · officialPublished Oct 1, 2026Risk 37/100

`BatchActivator.quote()` returned its input unchanged, the only activator with no escaping at all. `--prompt`, the `VIRTUALENV_PROMPT` environment variable, and the config file all set the prompt, and `activate.bat` writes it straight into `@set "VAR=value"`. A prompt containing a double quote closes that string early, and whatever follows runs as live cmd.exe syntax: ```console $ virtualenv --prompt 'x" & calc & "' venv $ venv\Scripts\activate.bat ``` runs `calc` the moment someone activates the environment. Confirmed on a real Windows runner. Anyone who templates a prompt from untrusted input (a CI job using a branch name, a wrapper script deriving an environment name from user input) hands an attacker code execution in the shell of anyone who activates the resulting venv on Windows. Fixed in 21.7.12 by escaping the characters cmd.exe treats as live syntax inside this construct. Fix: https://github.com/pypa/virtualenv/pull/3250

Upgrade affected packages to a patched version: virtualenv 21.7.12.

Vendor
Not specified
Product
virtualenv
Exploitation
none known
Evidence
official

This record is attributed to GitHub Advisories. Exploitation status and remediation guidance are kept separate from the vulnerability's technical severity.

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