# CVE-2026-54055: Kitty has an Arbitrary File Write via Symlink Race Condition in File Transmission Protocol

> A local attacker can exploit a race condition in Kitty's file transmission protocol to write arbitrary files, leading to privilege escalation.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.0 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:L`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 12 Jun 2026
- **Updated:** 15 Jun 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2026-54055, GHSA-q446-x7q6-vcxh, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-54055

## What is CVE-2026-54055?

CVE-2026-54055 is a medium-severity vulnerability in kovidgoyal kitty, published on 12 Jun 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official 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.

Weakness: CWE-59 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access), CWE-426 (Untrusted Search Path), CWE-367 (Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-54055?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Kovidgoyal Kitty.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-54055?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2026-54055 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-54055 exists.

## Other vulnerabilities in kovidgoyal kitty

- [CVE-2026-33642](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-33642/): Kitty has a Heap Buffer Over-Read/Write via Integer Overflow in compose_rectangles Bounds Check (critical 9.9)
- [CVE-2026-42851](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-42851/): @kitty-edit DCS + --color=geninclude vulnerable to Unauthenticated in-process RCE (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2026-54056](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-54056/): Kitty has an arbitrary file overwrite via symlink following in `kitten dnd` remote drop staging (high 7.6)
- [CVE-2026-33633](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-33633/): Kitty has a Heap Buffer Overflow in its Graphics Protocol Handler (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2026-42850](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-42850/): Kitty has a shell command injection (high 7.4)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-54055 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-54055 is a medium-severity vulnerability in kovidgoyal kitty, published on 12 Jun 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-54055 exists.

Affected product: kovidgoyal kitty. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-54055/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-54055/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-54055
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-54055
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-54055

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-54055/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.