VS Code 1.136.2 fixes RCE via remote agent host settings
Malicious workspace settings in untrusted repos could authorize a remote agent and expose local files.
Microsoft has patched a remote code execution flaw in Visual Studio Code that let a crafted repository connect the editor to a remote agent host without authorization and reach the user's files.
The issue affected VS Code 1.132.0 and earlier. Opening a malicious repository could cause the editor to honor hostile workspace settings and establish an unauthorized remote agent connection, giving an attacker remote access to files on the machine running VS Code. The vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2026-78462.
The fix is available in VS Code 1.136.2. It stops the editor from reading the relevant setting in untrusted workspaces and adds further hardening around remote agent host connections. Until users update, the practical workaround is to avoid opening untrusted repositories that include a .vscode/settings.json file.
Microsoft's Dmitry V. disclosed the advisory on the VS Code project.