CVE-2026-88968: Claude Code: TOCTOU Race in Edit Tool Allows File Writes Outside the Workspace
Claude Code validated Edit tool targets using point-in-time pathname and symlink resolution that was not bound to the underlying directory inodes or file descriptors. On macOS, a process running inside Claude Code's Bash sandbox could exploit the resulting time-of-check to time-of-use window by atomically swapping an in-workspace parent directory with a symlink after validation completed, causing the unsandboxed Edit implementation to overwrite an attacker-selected user-writable file outside the workspace. Exploiting this required the ability to run attacker-controlled code inside the sandbox, such as through a malicious repository or dependency script. Users on standard Claude Code auto-update have received this fix automatically. Users performing manual updates are advised to update to the latest version. Claude Code thanks hackerone.com/mahoraga007 (Sunder Singh) for reporting this issue.
Recommended action
Recommended action
Upgrade affected packages to a patched version: @anthropic-ai/claude-code 2.1.251.
Technical details
- Vendor
- Not specified
- Product
- @anthropic-ai/claude-code
- Exploitation
- none known
- Evidence
- official
Evidence and sources
This record is attributed to GitHub Advisories. Exploitation status and remediation guidance are kept separate from the vulnerability's technical severity.
Open primary source