CVE-2026-50520
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedImproper neutralization of special elements used in a command ('command injection') in Visual Studio Code allows an unauthorized attacker to execute code locally.
In the news
Third-party coverage- Microsoft July 2026 Patch Tuesday fixes massive 570 flaws, 3 zero-days
- Microsoft CVE Summary - Bleeping Computer
Surfaced from public web coverage — external links open in a new tab.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceThis is a command injection vulnerability in Visual Studio Code where improper neutralization of special elements allows an unauthorized attacker to execute code locally. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input sanitization when VS Code processes certain commands, enabling arbitrary command execution on the user's machine.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data>= 1.0.0, < 1.128.1CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Determine your VS Code versionOpen Visual Studio Code and go to Help > About, or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+P and type 'About' to see the version informationAffected if The displayed version falls within the range >= 1.0.0 and < 1.128.1
-
Verify the exact version numberNote the full version string shown in the About dialog (for example: 1.128.0 or 1.127.2)Affected if The version is 1.128.0 or lower (1.x.x where x is less than 128)
-
Check for command-processing extensionsReview installed extensions in the Extensions view (Ctrl+Shift+X), particularly any that handle external input, scripts, or invoke system commandsAffected if Extensions that process external input or execute system commands are installed and active
-
Identify active terminal shellsOpen the integrated terminal (Ctrl+`) and check which shell is configured (PowerShell, CMD, bash, etc.)Affected if The integrated terminal feature is enabled and configured to run shell commands
You are affected if your installed Visual Studio Code version is 1.128.0 or lower (any version from 1.0.0 up to but not including 1.128.1).
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scoped1.128.1
Apply the vendor-supplied patch/update to Visual Studio Code once released. Until then, limit VS Code usage to trusted extensions and disable or restrict functionality that processes external input.
Visual Studio Code 1.128.1 or later
- Close Visual Studio Code if it is currently running
- Download Visual Studio Code version 1.128.1 or later from the official Microsoft website (code.visualstudio.com)
- Install the update by running the downloaded installer
- Launch Visual Studio Code and verify the version by going to Help > About (should show 1.128.1 or later)
- Restart Visual Studio Code to ensure the update is fully applied
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,304.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-50520 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-50520 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data