CVE-2026-54055Kitty has an Arbitrary File Write via Symlink Race Condition in File Transmission Protocol
- 5.0MediumCVSS base score
- 0.07%Exploitation in 30 daysEPSS · top 100% of all CVEs
- NoKnown exploitednot in CISA's KEV catalog
- YesPublic exploitsa reference or SSVC says so
Description
Kitty is a cross-platform GPU based terminal. In versions prior to 0.47.2, a local privilege escalation vulnerability exists in kitty's file transmission protocol where a child process running in the terminal can write to arbitrary files on the filesystem by exploiting a TOCTOU (Time-of-Check-Time-of-Use) race condition between symlink validation and file creation. The `os.open()` call used to create files does not use `O_NOFOLLOW`, allowing an attacker to create a symlink between the initial stat check and the actual file open, causing the write to follow the symlink to an arbitrary destination. Version 0.47.2 fixes the issue.
Public exploit
An exploit or proof of concept is public: anyone can try it against an unpatched system. A reference of the record is tagged as an exploit. CISA's SSVC rates its exploitation: a proof of concept is public.
Show the exploits1
References tagged exploit1 reference
- https://github.com/kovidgoyal/kitty/security/advisories/GHSA-q446-x7q6-vcxh (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMexploit
Timeline
ID reserved
By GitHub_M
- 1 day later
· 1 day later
Published
- 3 days later
· 3 days later
Record updated
Changes after publication (a new score, a public exploit, EPSS crossing 1, 10 or 50 %, leaving KEV) are kept since November 2026; earlier ones are not known.
Scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub_MCNA (assigner) | 3.1 | Medium5.0 | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:L |
| NVDNVD · Analyzed | 3.1 | Medium5.0 | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:L |
- EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
- 0.07% · top 100% of all CVEs (15 Nov 2026)
- CISA SSVC
- Exploitation: poc · Automatable: no · Technical impact: partial
The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: Medium 5.0.
Affected products
- affected < 0.47.2
References
References1
- https://github.com/kovidgoyal/kitty/security/advisories/GHSA-q446-x7q6-vcxh (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMexploit
Sources
The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.
- CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
- CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
- NVD (opens in a new tab)
- FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
- EUVD EUVD-2026-36556 (opens in a new tab)
- OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
- GitHub Advisories (opens in a new tab)
- CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)
Badge for a README or a ticket
[](https://cveledger.app/cve/CVE-2026-54055)Record last updated .