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.
CVSS Details
- CVSS 3.1 Base Score: 5
- CVSS 3.1 Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:L)
Covered by Rapid7
| Product | Vendor Advisory | Solution File | Added | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debian | — | Upgrade kitty | Aug 11, 2026 | Aug 11, 2026 |
| Ubuntu | — | Upgrade kitty (Ubuntu Pro) | Sep 16, 2026 | Sep 15, 2026 |
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