---
id: CVE-2026-88968
title: 'Claude Code: TOCTOU Race in Edit Tool Allows File Writes Outside the Workspace'
summary: >-
  Claude Code is an agentic coding tool. Prior to 2.1.251, the Edit tool
  validates a target using pathname and symlink resolution that is not bound to
  the underlying directory inode or file descriptor. On macOS,
  attacker-controlled code ru…
severity: high
cvss: 7.7
cvssVector: 'CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N'
cvssSource: cna
cwe:
  - CWE-59
  - CWE-367
vendor: anthropics
product: claude-code
affected:
  - claude-code < 2.1.251
ssvc:
  exploitation: none
  automatable: 'no'
  technicalImpact: total
  timestamp: '2026-11-03T21:29:03.036554Z'
published: '2026-11-03'
updated: '2026-11-03'
sourceUpdated: '2026-11-03T21:29:17.279Z'
source: CVEORG
sourceUrl: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-88968'
references:
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/security/advisories/GHSA-5xjx-9qx6-jcrv
    label: >-
      https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/security/advisories/GHSA-5xjx-9qx6-jcrv
  - url: 'https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/releases/tag/v2.1.251'
    label: 'https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/releases/tag/v2.1.251'
tags:
  - cve.org
epss: 0.00317
epssPercentile: 0.24794
ingestedAt: '2026-11-05T20:33:06.526Z'
---

## Overview

Claude Code is an agentic coding tool. Prior to 2.1.251, the Edit tool validates a target using pathname and symlink resolution that is not bound to the underlying directory inode or file descriptor. On macOS, attacker-controlled code running in the Bash sandbox can atomically replace an in-workspace parent directory with a symlink after validation, causing the unsandboxed Edit implementation to overwrite a user-writable file outside the workspace. Exploitation requires attacker-controlled code to run inside the sandbox, such as from a malicious repository or dependency script. This issue is fixed in version 2.1.251.

## Affected

- `claude-code < 2.1.251`

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.