linki.py in ekg 2005-06-05 and earlier allows local users to overwrite or create arbitrary files via a symlink attack on temporary files.

everybuddy 0.4.3 and earlier allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on a temporary file created by a system call to wget.

LutelWall 0.97 and earlier allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on a temporary file created by a system call to wget.

The internal_dump function in Mathopd before 1.5p5, and 1.6x before 1.6b6 BETA, when Mathopd is running with the -n option, allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on dump files that are triggered by a SIGWINCH signal.

faxrunqd.in in mgetty 1.1.28 and earlier allows local users to overwrite files via a symlink attack on JOB files.

A validation issue existed in the handling of symlinks. This issue was addressed with improved validation of symlinks. This issue is fixed in iOS 12.3, macOS Mojave 10.14.5, tvOS 12.3, watchOS 5.2.1. A local user may be able to modify protected parts of the file system.

NTFS file system in Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000 SP2 allows local attackers to hide file usage activities via a hard link to the target file, which causes the link to be recorded in the audit trail instead of the target file.

Perl module Data::UUID from CPAN version 1.219 vulnerable to symlink attacks

Hard link and possibly symbolic link following vulnerabilities in QNX RTOS 4.25 (aka QNX4) allow local users to overwrite arbitrary files via (1) the -f argument to the monitor utility, (2) the -d argument to dumper, (3) the -c argument to crttrap, or (4) using the Watcom sample utility.

On BIG-IP versions 15.0.0-15.0.1, 14.1.0.2-14.1.2.2, 14.0.0.5-14.0.1, 13.1.1.5-13.1.3.1, 12.1.4.1-12.1.5, 11.6.4-11.6.5, and 11.5.9-11.5.10, the access controls implemented by scp.whitelist and scp.blacklist are not properly enforced for paths that are symlinks. This allows authenticated users with SCP access to overwrite certain configuration files that would otherwise be restricted.

A UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following vulnerability in the mysql-systemd-helper of the mariadb packaging of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 allows local attackers to change the permissions of arbitrary files to 0640. This issue affects: SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 mariadb versions prior to 10.2.31-3.25.1. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 mariadb versions prior to 10.2.31-3.26.1.

Perl 5.004_04 and earlier follows symbolic links when running with the -e option, which allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on the /tmp/perl-eaXXXXX file.

script command in the util-linux package before 2.11n allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files by setting a hardlink from the typescript log file to any file on the system, then having root execute the script command.

foomatic-rip filter, all versions, used insecurely creates temporary files for storage of PostScript data by rendering the data when the debug mode was enabled. This flaw may be exploited by a local attacker to conduct symlink attacks by overwriting arbitrary files accessible with the privileges of the user running the foomatic-rip universal print filter.

An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in Windows store installer where WindowsApps directory is vulnerable to symbolic link attack, aka 'Microsoft Windows Store Installer Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability'.

pithos before 0.3.5 allows overwrite of arbitrary files via symlinks.

This vulnerability allows local attackers to delete arbitrary directories on affected installations of Avast Premium Security 20.8.2429 (Build 20.8.5653.561). An attacker must first obtain the ability to execute low-privileged code on the target system in order to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within the AvastSvc.exe module. By creating a directory junction, an attacker can abuse the service to delete a directory. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to create a denial-of-service condition on the system. Was ZDI-CAN-12082.

It was discovered that the process_report() function in data/whoopsie-upload-all allowed arbitrary file writes via symlinks.

This issue was addressed with improved validation of symlinks. This issue is fixed in macOS Ventura 13.7.5, macOS Sequoia 15.4, macOS Sonoma 14.7.5. An app may be able to access protected user data.

The IPTables-Parse module before 1.6 for Perl allows local users to write to arbitrary files owned by the current user.

A security vulnerability that can lead to local privilege escalation has been found in ’guix-daemon’. It affects multi-user setups in which ’guix-daemon’ runs locally. The attack consists in having an unprivileged user spawn a build process, for instance with `guix build`, that makes its build directory world-writable. The user then creates a hardlink to a root-owned file such as /etc/shadow in that build directory. If the user passed the --keep-failed option and the build eventually fails, the daemon changes ownership of the whole build tree, including the hardlink, to the user. At that point, the user has write access to the target file. Versions after and including v0.11.0-3298-g2608e40988, and versions prior to v1.2.0-75109-g94f0312546 are vulnerable.

os.OpenFile(path, os.O_CREATE|O_EXCL) behaved differently on Unix and Windows systems when the target path was a dangling symlink. On Unix systems, OpenFile with O_CREATE and O_EXCL flags never follows symlinks. On Windows, when the target path was a symlink to a nonexistent location, OpenFile would create a file in that location. OpenFile now always returns an error when the O_CREATE and O_EXCL flags are both set and the target path is a symlink.

Windows Update Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Privilege Escalation vulnerability in McAfee Total Protection (MTP) prior to 16.0.30 allows a local user to gain elevated privileges and perform arbitrary file deletion as the SYSTEM user potentially causing Denial of Service via manipulating Junction link, after enumerating certain files, at a specific time.

Okta Verify for Windows is vulnerable to privilege escalation through DLL hijacking. The vulnerability is fixed in Okta Verify for Windows version 5.0.2. To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade to 5.0.2 or greater.

foomatic-rip filter v4.0.12 and prior used insecurely creates temporary files for storage of PostScript data by rendering the data when the debug mode was enabled. This flaw may be exploited by a local attacker to conduct symlink attacks by overwriting arbitrary files accessible with the privileges of the user running the foomatic-rip universal print filter.

This issue was addressed with improved validation of symlinks. This issue is fixed in macOS Ventura 13.7, macOS Sonoma 14.7, macOS Sequoia 15. An app may be able to modify protected parts of the file system.

vzctl before 4.9.4 determines the virtual environment (VE) layout based on the presence of root.hdd/DiskDescriptor.xml in the VE private directory, which allows local simfs container (CT) root users to change the root password for arbitrary ploop containers, as demonstrated by a symlink attack on the ploop container root.hdd file and then access a control panel.

The abrt-action-install-debuginfo-to-abrt-cache help program in Automatic Bug Reporting Tool (ABRT) before 2.7.1 allows local users to write to arbitrary files via a symlink attack on unpacked.cpio in a pre-created directory with a predictable name in /var/tmp.

The changelog command in Apt before 1.0.9.2 allows local users to write to arbitrary files via a symlink attack on the changelog file.

modules.d/90crypt/module-setup.sh in the dracut package before 037-17.30.1 in openSUSE 13.2 allows local users to have unspecified impact via a symlink attack on /tmp/dracut_block_uuid.map.

On MacOS and Linux, it may be possible to perform a symlink attack by replacing this predictable file name with a symlink to another file and have the Velociraptor client overwrite the other file. This issue was resolved in Velociraptor 0.6.5-2.

A library injection issue was addressed with additional restrictions. This issue is fixed in macOS Ventura 13.7, macOS Sonoma 14.7, macOS Sequoia 15. An app may be able to modify protected parts of the file system.

A vulnerability in the Cisco IOS XE SD-WAN Software CLI could allow an authenticated, local attacker to overwrite arbitrary files on the local system. This vulnerability is due to improper access controls on files within the local file system. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by placing a symbolic link in a specific location on the local file system. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to overwrite arbitrary files on an affected device.

NVIDIA GPU Display driver for Windows contains a vulnerability where an unprivileged user can create a file hard link that causes the driver to overwrite a file that requires elevated privilege to modify, which could lead to data loss or denial of service.

Apport creates a world writable lock file with root ownership in the world writable /var/lock/apport directory. If the apport/ directory does not exist (this is not uncommon as /var/lock is a tmpfs), it will create the directory, otherwise it will simply continue execution using the existing directory. This allows for a symlink attack if an attacker were to create a symlink at /var/lock/apport, changing apport's lock file location. This file could then be used to escalate privileges, for example. Fixed in versions 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.23, 2.20.9-0ubuntu7.14, 2.20.11-0ubuntu8.8 and 2.20.11-0ubuntu22.

A validation issue existed in the handling of symlinks. This issue was addressed with improved validation of symlinks. This issue is fixed in macOS Catalina 10.15.3. A malicious application may be able to overwrite arbitrary files.

A vulnerability in the uninstaller component of Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client for Mac OS could allow an authenticated, local attacker to corrupt the content of any file in the filesystem. The vulnerability is due to the incorrect handling of directory paths. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by creating a symbolic link (symlink) to a target file on a specific path. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to corrupt the contents of the file. If the file is a critical systems file, the exploit could lead to a denial of service condition. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker would need to have valid credentials on the system.Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability. There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability.

A flaw was found in katello-debug before 3.4.0 where certain scripts and log files used insecure temporary files. A local user could exploit this flaw to conduct a symbolic-link attack, allowing them to overwrite the contents of arbitrary files.