# CVE-2026-122136: Powerlevel10k before 1.20.19 Symlink Following via Instant Prompt Temporary File

Status: published. Published: 2026-11-04. Updated: 2026-11-04.

Powerlevel10k before 1.20.19 contains a symlink following vulnerability in _p9k_dump_instant_prompt that allows local attackers to overwrite victim-writable files via a predictable temporary path. Attackers can pre-plant symlinks at p10k-instant-prompt-output-<user>-<pid> in TMPDIR, guessing the victim's shell PID, so shell startup truncates and overwrites targeted files.

## Remediation

- fix: The reporting source identifies this reference as a patch. Check the advisory for affected versions and supported release branches. (source: CNA: VulnCheck) — https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k/commit/7ddd1b2715c3844275214347a3572ac1fdd6dc39

## Affected products and versions

- romkatv / powerlevel10k: ≥ 0; < 1.20.19 (affected, custom). Source: CNA: VulnCheck

## Severity and prioritization

- CVSS 4.0: 4.1 (medium); CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:P/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N; source: CNA: VulnCheck

- CVSS 3.1: 4.4 (medium); CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N; source: CNA: VulnCheck

- CISA KEV: No listing in collected sources

- EPSS: Not available

- SSVC: Not available

- Weaknesses: CWE-59

## Exploit evidence

No exploit evidence in collected sources. This is not proof of no exploitation.

## References

- https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k/issues/2972 (CNA: VulnCheck; issue-tracking)

- https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k (CNA: VulnCheck; product)

- https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k/commit/7ddd1b2715c3844275214347a3572ac1fdd6dc39 (CNA: VulnCheck; patch)

- https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k/blob/v1.20.0/internal/p10k.zsh#L6445-L6452 (CNA: VulnCheck; technical-description)

- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/powerlevel10k-before-1.20.19-symlink-following-via-instant-prompt-temporary-file (CNA: VulnCheck; third-party-advisory)

## Provenance

- CNA: VulnCheck: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-122136; retrieved 2026-11-04; source updated 2026-11-04

Revision: 7443057d48e0171ec20f091af0a272d4bb576b813cce6a2fa627d79b8d272465

Canonical: https://y2.dev/cve/CVE-2026-122136

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