streetsidesoftware vscode-spell-checker up to 4.5.3 package.json cSpell.trustedWorkspace default permission

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in streetsidesoftware vscode-spell-checker up to 4.5.3. It has been classified as critical. This issue affects some unknown processing of the file package.json. Performing a manipulation of the argument cSpell.trustedWorkspace results in default permission. This vulnerability was named CVE-2026-25931. The attack needs to be approached locally. There is no available exploit. Upgrading the affected component is recommended.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, was found in streetsidesoftware vscode-spell-checker up to 4.5.3. This affects an unknown code block of the file package.json. The manipulation of the argument cSpell.trustedWorkspace with an unknown input leads to a default permission vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-276. During installation, installed file permissions are set to allow anyone to modify those files. This is going to have an impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

vscode-spell-checker is a basic spell checker that works well with code and documents. Prior to v4.5.4, DocumentSettings._determineIsTrusted treats the configuration value cSpell.trustedWorkspace as the authoritative trust flag. The value defaults to true (package.json) and is read from workspace configuration each time settings are fetched. The code coerces any truthy value to true and forwards it to ConfigLoader.setIsTrusted , which in turn allows JavaScript/TypeScript configuration files ( .cspell.config.js/.mjs/.ts , etc.) to be located and executed. Because no VS Code workspace-trust state is consulted, an untrusted workspace can keep the flag true and place a malicious .cspell.config.js ; opening the workspace causes the extension host to execute attacker-controlled Node.js code with the user’s privileges. This vulnerability is fixed in v4.5.4.

It is possible to read the advisory at github.com. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2026-25931 since 02/09/2026. The exploitability is told to be easy. Attacking locally is a requirement. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The attack technique deployed by this issue is T1222 according to MITRE ATT&CK.

By approaching the search of inurl:package.json it is possible to find vulnerable targets with Google Hacking.

Upgrading to version 4.5.4 eliminates this vulnerability. The upgrade is hosted for download at github.com. Applying the patch f39af9a3a6f2a939a57171a24161ed735d41c575 is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at github.com. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

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Productinfo

Vendor

• streetsidesoftware

Name

• vscode-spell-checker

Version

• 4.5.0
• 4.5.1
• 4.5.2
• 4.5.3

License

• open-source

Website

• Product: https://github.com/streetsidesoftware/vscode-spell-checker/

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