How severe is CVE-2026-22701?

CVE-2026-22701 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.3, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over local access with high attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity low, and availability high.

Is CVE-2026-22701 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (2nd percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2026-22701?

CVE-2026-22701 affects Tox-dev Filelock. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.

How do I fix CVE-2026-22701?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.

Does CVE-2026-22701 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?

Yes. CVE-2026-22701 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2026-1870.

When was CVE-2026-22701 published?

CVE-2026-22701 was published on 2026-01-10 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2026-22701

CVE-2026-22701 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Tox-dev Filelock with a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.3. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-59.

Key facts

Severity: Medium (CVSS 3.x base score 5.3)
EPSS exploit prediction: 0% (2nd percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
EU (EUVD) id: EUVD-2026-1870
Weakness: CWE-59
Affected product: Tox-dev Filelock
Published: 2026-01-10
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

filelock is a platform-independent file lock for Python. Prior to version 3.20.3, a TOCTOU race condition vulnerability exists in the SoftFileLock implementation of the filelock package. An attacker with local filesystem access and permission to create symlinks can exploit a race condition between the permission validation and file creation to cause lock operations to fail or behave unexpectedly. The vulnerability occurs in the _acquire() method between raise_on_not_writable_file() (permission check) and os.open() (file creation). During this race window, an attacker can create a symlink at the lock file path, potentially causing the lock to operate on an unintended target file or leading to denial of service. This issue has been patched in version 3.20.3.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-22701?: filelock is a platform-independent file lock for Python. Prior to version 3.20.3, a TOCTOU race condition vulnerability exists in the SoftFileLock implementation of the filelock package. An attacker with local filesystem access and permission to create symlinks can exploit a race condition between the permission validation and file creation to cause lock operations to fail or behave unexpectedly. The vulnerability occurs in the _acquire() method between raise_on_not_writable_file() (permission check) and os.open() (file creation). During this race window, an attacker can create a symlink at the lock file path, potentially causing the lock to operate on an unintended target file or leading to denial of service. This issue has been patched in version 3.20.3.
How severe is CVE-2026-22701?: CVE-2026-22701 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.3, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over local access with high attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity low, and availability high.
Is CVE-2026-22701 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (2nd percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2026-22701?: CVE-2026-22701 affects Tox-dev Filelock. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2026-22701?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
Does CVE-2026-22701 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?: Yes. CVE-2026-22701 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2026-1870.
When was CVE-2026-22701 published?: CVE-2026-22701 was published on 2026-01-10 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (1)

cpe:2.3:a:tox-dev:filelock:*:*:*:*:*:python:*:*

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