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Link Following (Symlink)Weakness · CWE-59

CVE-2024-45315

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-10-11
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
The Improper link resolution before file access ('Link Following') vulnerability in SonicWall Connect Tunnel (version 12.4.3.271 and earlier of Windows client) allows users with standard privileges to create arbitrary folders and files, potentially leading to local Denial of Service (DoS) attack.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

This is a link following (symlink) vulnerability in SonicWall Connect Tunnel Windows client versions 12.4.3.271 and earlier. Standard privilege users can exploit improper link resolution to create arbitrary folders and files on the local system, potentially causing local Denial of Service by overwriting critical files or consuming disk space.

MitigationUpdate SonicWall Connect Tunnel client to a version newer than 12.4.3.271 as provided by the vendor. If immediate patching is not feasible, restrict standard user file system creation permissions and monitor for unauthorized file/folder creation in sensitive directories.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm SonicWall Connect Tunnel is installed
    Open Windows Settings > Apps & Features, or run 'Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product | Select-Object Name,Version' in PowerShell, and look for 'SonicWall Connect Tunnel' in the installed programs list
    Affected if The software is present on the system
  2. Check installed version against CVE threshold
    In Apps & Features, click on SonicWall Connect Tunnel to view the version, or right-click the application in Programs and choose Properties to see the File Version. Compare this to 12.4.3.271
    Affected if The installed version is 12.4.3.271 or any version number lower (earlier) than 12.4.3.271
  3. Verify the client service or process is present
    Open Task Manager, go to the Services tab, or run 'Get-Service | Where-Object {$_.DisplayName -like "*SonicWall*"}' in PowerShell. Look for SonicWall Connect Tunnel service or related running process
    Affected if The SonicWall Connect Tunnel service or client process is running or enabled on the system
  4. Inspect for unauthorized folder creation in sensitive paths
    Use File Explorer or run 'Get-ChildItem -Path C:\ -Directory -Recurse -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Where-Object {$_.CreationTime -gt (Get-Date).AddDays(-7)}' to list recently created folders. Manually check system folders like C:\Windows\System32, C:\Program Files, and root directories for unexpected new folders that standard users should not be able to create
    Affected if Unexpected folders or files exist in system directories that were created recently and were not initiated by an administrator

If SonicWall Connect Tunnel version 12.4.3.271 or earlier is installed and the client is active, the environment is potentially affected by this symlink vulnerability allowing unauthorized file/folder creation.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update SonicWall Connect Tunnel client to a version newer than 12.4.3.271 as provided by the vendor. If immediate patching is not feasible, restrict standard user file system creation permissions and monitor for unauthorized file/folder creation in sensitive directories.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest version available from SonicWall (newer than 12.4.3.271)

  1. 1. Open SonicWall Connect Tunnel on the Windows client
  2. 2. Check the current version by navigating to Help > About or the application settings
  3. 3. Visit the official SonicWall support portal or the reference source at psirt.global.sonicwall.com to obtain the latest version
  4. 4. Download the most recent version of SonicWall Connect Tunnel for Windows
  5. 5. Close the running Connect Tunnel application
  6. 6. Run the installer for the new version
  7. 7. Follow the on-screen installation prompts
  8. 8. After installation, restart the application and verify the version matches the latest available release
Caveat Review release notes for any changes to functionality or system requirements before upgrading

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-45315 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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