CVE-2024-53899: Virtualenv Virtualenv Allows Command Injection Through Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-rqc4-2hc7-8c8v
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CVSS 8.4
CWE-78 CWE-77
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2024-53899 is a HIGH (CVSS 8.4) virtualenv allows command injection through vulnerability (CWE-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')) affecting Virtualenv libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves virtualenv allows command injection through activation scripts for a virtual environment. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 20.26.6.

CVE-2024-53899 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2024-53899
GHSA Identifier GHSA-rqc4-2hc7-8c8v
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 8.4
CWE Classification CWE-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')
Affected Product Virtualenv
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 8.4

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Local (AV:L)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2024-53899

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Virtualenv dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

virtualenv fixed: 20.26.6 
pip install virtualenv>=20.26.6
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

pip show virtualenv

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2024-53899, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show virtualenv

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Virtualenv in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 20.26.6), your application is affected.

Note: The pip show virtualenv command checks currently installed packages in your active Python environment.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection'), where the product constructs all or part of an os command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended os command when it is sent to a downstream component. In Virtualenv, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

virtualenv before 20.26.6 allows command injection through the activation scripts for a virtual environment. Magic template strings are not quoted correctly when replacing. NOTE: this is not the same as CVE-2024-9287.

CVE-2024-53899 Affected Virtualenv Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
20.26.6
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
virtualenv
pypi/virtualenv
PyPI
< 20.26.6
20.26.6

References

NVD — CVE-2024-53899 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-53899
Virtualenv Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/virtualenv/issues/2768
Virtualenv Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/virtualenv/pull/2771
Virtualenv Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/virtualenv/PYSEC-2024-187.yaml
Virtualenv Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/virtualenv
Virtualenv Release RELEASE
https://github.com/pypa/virtualenv/releases/tag/20.26.6

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2024-53899?
CVE-2024-53899 is a security vulnerability in Virtualenv involving virtualenv allows command injection through activation scripts for a virtual environment under CWE-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection').
Which Virtualenv versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 20.26.6 across affected packages: virtualenv.
What version fixes CVE-2024-53899?
Upgrading to 20.26.6 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is virtualenv affected?
Yes, virtualenv is affected in releases prior to 20.26.6. Upgrade your dependency to 20.26.6 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2024-53899?
CVE-2024-53899 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.4 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2024-53899?
CVE-2024-53899 is classified under CWE-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection') (The product constructs all or part of an OS command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended OS command when it is sent to a downstream component.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2024-53899?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show virtualenv'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-rqc4-2hc7-8c8v",
  "modified" : "2025-01-21T17:59:19Z",
  "published" : "2024-11-24T18:31:39Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2024-53899" ],
  "summary" : "virtualenv allows command injection through activation scripts for a virtual environment",
  "details" : "virtualenv before 20.26.6 allows command injection through the activation scripts for a virtual environment. Magic template strings are not quoted correctly when replacing. NOTE: this is not the same as CVE-2024-9287.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "virtualenv"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "20.26.6"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-53899"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/virtualenv/issues/2768"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/virtualenv/pull/2771"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/virtualenv/PYSEC-2024-187.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/virtualenv"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/virtualenv/releases/tag/20.26.6"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-77", "CWE-78" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2025-01-13T17:01:51Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2024-11-24T16:15:06Z"
  }
}