CVE-2025-5296
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 · uneditedCWE-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following') vulnerability exists that could cause arbitrary data to be written to protected locations, potentially leading to escalation of privilege, arbitrary file corruption, exposure of application and system information or persistent denial of service when a low-privileged attacker tampers with the installation folder.
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 confidenceA CWE-59 link following vulnerability allows a low-privileged attacker to manipulate the installation folder (likely via symlink or junction creation) to write arbitrary data to protected locations. This can lead to privilege escalation, file corruption, information disclosure, or persistent denial of service.
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
- Low
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Locate the installation folderIdentify the directory where the target application is installed. This is typically found in program files, a custom installation path, or via system inventory tools. Check the application's documentation or service configuration for the installation path.Affected if The installation folder is writable by low-privileged users, allowing them to create symlinks or junctions within it.
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Verify folder permissionsUseicacls <folderpath> (Windows) or ls -la (Linux/Unix) to inspect permissions on the installation folder. Identify which users or groups have write or create symbolic link permissions.Affected if Non-admin or low-privileged users have write access to the installation folder, enabling them to create symlinks or junctions pointing to protected locations.
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Scan for existing symlinks or junctionsRun 'dir /AL /S <folderpath>' on Windows or 'find <folderpath> -type l' on Linux to list all symbolic links and junctions within the installation directory and its subdirectories.Affected if Symlinks or junctions exist in the installation folder that were not created by administrators, indicating potential exploitation.
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Check application execution contextReview the service or process configuration (via services.msc, task manager, or ps -ef) to determine if the application runs with elevated privileges or under a privileged service account.Affected if The application runs with administrator or system privileges while the installation folder is writable by low-privileged users.
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Audit for path access safeguardsReview application logs, source code (if accessible), or configuration for use of O_NOFOLLOW (Linux), FILE_FLAG_OPEN_REPARSE_POINT (Windows), or equivalent flags when accessing files in the installation directory.Affected if The application does not use symlink-safe file access flags, allowing link-following attacks.
A user is affected if the installation folder is writable by low-privileged users and the application accesses files within it without symlink/junction safeguards, enabling arbitrary file writes to protected locations.
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 dataRestrict write permissions on the installation folder to prevent tampering; implement O_NOFOLLOW or equivalent flags when accessing files in the installation directory; validate all file paths before access.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-5296 — 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-2025-5296 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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