Host filesystem access via backslash symlink traversal
Published May 15, 2025 · Updated May 15, 2025
Symlink following in iwasm before 2.3.0 allows local users to read or create host files outside a WASI preopened directory. On Windows, libc-uvwasi accepts backslash-containing symlink targets, and path_open follows them beyond the preopened directory when opening or creating a file. Exploitation requires execution of an attacker-supplied Wasm module in an affected Windows WAMR instance, exposing readable host data or permitting host file creation.
Summary
What happened
Symlink following in iwasm before 2.3.0 allows local users to read or create host files outside a WASI preopened directory. On Windows, libc-uvwasi accepts backslash-containing symlink targets, and path_open follows them beyond the preopened directory when opening or creating a file. Exploitation requires execution of an attacker-supplied Wasm module in an affected Windows WAMR instance, exposing readable host data or permitting host file creation.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-43853
- Published
- May 15, 2025
- Updated
- May 15, 2025
- Vendor
- Bytecode Alliance
- Product
- WebAssembly Micro Runtime (WAMR)
- Classifications
- CWE-61, T1005
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 15, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 15, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=< 2.3.0
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Public exploit references
- GHSA backslash-symlink proof of conceptproof of concept · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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