CVE-2025-24886
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 · uneditedpwn.college is an education platform to learn about, and practice, core cybersecurity concepts in a hands-on fashion. Incorrect symlink checks on user specified dojos allows for users (admin not required) to perform an LFI from the CTFd container. When a user clones or updates repositories, a check is performed to see if the repository had contained any symlinks. A malicious user could craft a repository with symlinks pointed to sensitive files and then retrieve them using the CTFd website.
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 · high confidenceThe pwn.college platform has an insecure symlink validation flaw in its repository handling for user dojos. When users clone or update repositories, the symlink check incorrectly allows symlinks to point to files outside the repository boundaries. Attackers can craft repositories containing symlinks to sensitive system files (like /etc/passwd) and retrieve their contents through the CTFd web interface, achieving LFI without admin privileges.
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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify if pwn.college platform is deployedSearch for pwn.college web application files, CTFd instance, or check running services on the system that match the pwn.college platformAffected if The platform is running and handles user dojo repositories
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Locate the repository handling codeSearch for code that handles git clone or repository update operations for user dojos, typically in the CTFd plugin or dojo-related modulesAffected if The platform processes user-supplied repositories
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Check symlink validation logicInspect the code that validates symlinks during repository operations, looking for path resolution and boundary checking logicAffected if The symlink validation does not resolve paths or verify targets remain within the repository root
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Verify symlink handling configurationLook for configuration files or settings related to repository validation, symlink handling, or dojo creation that may control whether symlink checks are enforcedAffected if Symlink validation is disabled, missing, or allows targets outside the repository directory
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Test for vulnerable symlink behaviorCreate a test repository with a symlink pointing to a file outside the expected directory (such as /etc/passwd), push it to the platform, and observe if the symlink target becomes accessible through the web interfaceAffected if Symlinks to files outside the repository root are resolved and served by the web application
A user is affected if the pwn.college platform is deployed and its repository handling does not properly validate that symlink targets remain within the repository directory boundaries.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
From vendor dataImplement proper symlink target validation that resolves paths and ensures all symlinks remain within the intended repository directory boundaries, rejecting any that point outside the repository root.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,088.
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-24886 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-24886 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data