CVE-2026-61371
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 · uneditedMicrosoft AVML before 0.17.0 could follow a symlink when opening a destination output path on Unix, allowing truncation/overwrite of the symlink target. The destructive effect is performed at open-time via O_TRUNC, and can happen before full input validation completes (“truncation-before-validation”).
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 confidenceMicrosoft AVML before 0.17.0 suffers from a symlink attack where opening a destination output path with O_TRUNC occurs before input validation completes, allowing an attacker with local access to truncate or overwrite arbitrary files reachable via symlinks that the AVML process can write to.
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
- 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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Verify Microsoft AVML is installedRun 'avml --version' or 'where avml' on Windows / 'which avml' on Linux to locate the binaryAffected if The command returns a path and version number, meaning AVML is present
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Determine installed AVML versionExecute 'avml --version' and note the version string returned (e.g., output format typically shows 'avml version X.Y.Z')Affected if A version number is displayed and it is below 0.17.0
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Compare version to the fixed releaseParse the version output and compare numerically against 0.17.0 (e.g., 0.16.0, 0.15.1, etc.)Affected if The installed version is lower than 0.17.0 (such as 0.16.x or earlier)
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Confirm symlink write exposureCheck if AVML is run in an environment where untrusted local users can create symlinks in directories where AVML writes output (examine file permissions and directory access controls)Affected if Other local users have write access to directories where AVML may write output files and can create symlinks
You are affected if Microsoft AVML is installed and its version is below 0.17.0, combined with an attack surface where local users can influence output file paths via symlinks.
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 · scopedUpgrade Microsoft AVML to version 0.17.0 or later which contains the fix for this truncation-before-validation vulnerability.
Microsoft AVML version 0.17.0 or later
- Check the current installed version of Microsoft AVML using 'avml --version' or equivalent command
- Download Microsoft AVML version 0.17.0 or later from the official GitHub repository (github.com/microsoft/avml)
- Replace the existing avml binary with the new version
- Verify the upgrade was successful by running 'avml --version' to confirm version 0.17.0 or later is installed
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,376.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-61371 — 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-2026-61371 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
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