CVE-2026-54055

Kitty has an Arbitrary File Write via Symlink Race Condition in File Transmission Protocol

MEDIUM
5
CVSS Score
Published: June 12, 2026 at 08:03 PM UTC
Updated: June 17, 2026 at 10:58 AM UTC
1 product affected across 1 vendorKitty

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Severity
MEDIUM5
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.1%
SSVC
PoC

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.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

v < 0.47.2
Affected range stops below 0.47.2, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet. What the record does show:

References (1)

x_refsource_CONFIRMMitigationVendor Advisory
Source: cverecord
https://github.com/kovidgoyal/kitty/security/advisories/GHSA-q446-x7q6-vcxh

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCPoCNot automatablePartial impact

SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.

CVSS

5MEDIUMGitHub_M
Attack Vector
LOCAL
Complexity
HIGH
Privileges
LOW
User Interaction
REQUIRED
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
NONE
Integrity
HIGH
Availability
LOW
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusANALYZED
CWE
CWE-59CWE-367CWE-426

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