CVE-2026-25724
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 · uneditedClaude Code is an agentic coding tool. Prior to version 2.1.7, Claude Code failed to strictly enforce deny rules configured in settings.json when accessing files through symbolic links. If a user explicitly denied Claude Code access to a file (such as /etc/passwd) and Claude Code had access to a symbolic link pointing to that file, it was possible for Claude Code to read the restricted file through the symlink without triggering deny rule enforcement. This issue has been patched in version 2.1.7.
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 confidenceClaude Code versions prior to 2.1.7 failed to enforce deny rules configured in settings.json when accessing files through symbolic links. An attacker with the ability to create or control symlinks could bypass file access restrictions and read restricted files (e.g., /etc/passwd) that were explicitly denied in the configuration.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data< 2.1.7CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/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 installed Claude Code versionRun the command to check the Claude Code version (e.g., 'claude --version' or check the application's about/info panel)Affected if The version shown is less than 2.1.7 (e.g., 2.1.6, 2.1.5, 2.0.x, etc.)
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Locate settings.json configuration fileFind the Claude Code settings.json file in the application data or config directory - typically in the user's Claude Code configuration folderAffected if A settings.json file exists and contains file access deny rules (e.g., rules blocking specific paths like /etc/passwd or other sensitive files)
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Verify symlink access is possibleCheck whether the Claude Code environment permits access to files via symbolic links, or whether a user could create symlinks in directories that Claude Code accessesAffected if Symbolic links can be created or controlled by the user in directories that Claude Code processes, and deny rules in settings.json target paths that could be reached through those symlinks
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Confirm deny rules target restricted pathsReview the deny rules in settings.json to see which paths are explicitly denied - check if these include sensitive system files or paths that could be symlink targetsAffected if Deny rules exist for paths like /etc/passwd, /etc/shadow, or other restricted files that would be protected under normal access but could be circumvented via symlinks
You are affected if Claude Code version is below 2.1.7 AND your settings.json contains deny rules that could be bypassed through symbolic link traversal.
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.
dbcve · scoped2.1.7
Upgrade Claude Code to version 2.1.7 or later, which contains the patch to enforce deny rules on symlink targets.
Claude Code 2.1.7
- Upgrade Claude Code to version 2.1.7 or later
- Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the installed version
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-25724 — 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-2026-25724 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
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