CVE-2020-0604 Visual Studio Code Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
Attackers can execute arbitrary code by tricking users into opening a malicious repository in Visual Studio Code, potentially gaining full system control.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2020-0604?
CVE-2020-0604 is a high-severity code injection vulnerability in Microsoft Visual Studio Code, published on 17 Aug 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
A remote code execution vulnerability exists in Visual Studio Code when it process environment variables after opening a project. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could run arbitrary code in the context of the current user. If the current user is logged on with administrative user rights, an attacker could take control of the affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would need to convince a target to clone a repository and open it in Visual Studio Code. Attacker-specified code would execute when the target opened the integrated terminal. The update address the vulnerability by modifying the way Visual Studio Code handles environment variables.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-0604?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Microsoft Visual Studio Code.
How do I fix CVE-2020-0604?
No fix has been published for CVE-2020-0604 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Upgrade, and never evaluate templates, expressions or code built from user input. More about Code injection.
Is CVE-2020-0604 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-0604 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Microsoft Visual Studio Code
- CVE-2026-81376 Visual Studio Code Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability
- CVE-2026-47281 Visual Studio Code Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
- CVE-2026-78462 Visual Studio Code Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability
- CVE-2026-59113 Visual Studio Code Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
- CVE-2026-69320 Visual Studio Code Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
Sources
Also known as GHSA-hg8m-5gg6-3vv9.