CyberSecBulletin

UNIX Hard Link

CWE-62

The product, when opening a file or directory, does not sufficiently account for when the name is associated with a hard link to a target that is outside of the intended control sphere. This could allow an attacker to cause the product to operate on unauthorized files.

We track 4 vulnerabilities of this type. 100% are rated high or critical, and the average CVSS score is 8.3.

How this weakness is prevented

  • Architecture and Design: Follow the principle of least privilege when assigning access rights to entities in a software system. Denying access to a file can prevent an attacker from replacing that file with a link to a sensitive file. Ensure good compartmentalization in the system to provide protected areas that can be trusted.

Latest UNIX Hard Link vulnerabilities

  • 7.7 High severity

    APT: UNIX Hard Link

    CVE-2026-109518Debian

    On Debian, Ubuntu, and derivative Linux distributions, an on-path attacker who can manipulate the HTTP traffic (including a malicious mirror or proxy) between an APT client and an archive server triggered by a package install can trick the client into installi

  • 9.8 Critical severity

    zeptoclaw: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory

    CVE-2026-32232Qhkm

    ZeptoClaw is a personal AI assistant. Prior to 0.7.6, there is a Dangling Symlink Component Bypass, TOCTOU Between Validation and Use, and Hardlink Alias Bypass. This vulnerability is fixed in 0.7.6.

  • 7.8 High severity

    Parallels Desktop for Mac: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access

    CVE-2024-54189Parallels

    A privilege escalation vulnerability exists in the Snapshot functionality of Parallels Desktop for Mac version 20.1.1 (build 55740). When a snapshot of a virtual machine is taken, a root service writes to a file owned by a normal user. By using a hard link, an

  • 7.8 High severity

    Parallels Desktop for Mac: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access

    CVE-2024-36486Parallels

    A privilege escalation vulnerability exists in the virtual machine archive restoration functionality of Parallels Desktop for Mac version 20.1.1 (55740). When an archived virtual machine is restored, the prl_vmarchiver tool decompresses the file and writes the