CVE-2026-74796Network attack vectorHinoki check available

Arbitrary file write via cache symlink

Published Aug 16, 2026 · Updated Aug 17, 2026

Path traversal in OpenTofu before 1.10.10 and 1.11.0 through 1.11.6 allows attackers to write files via a malicious provider-cache symlink. During provider installation, tofu init treats a preexisting cache entry as a writable package directory and follows its symlink target instead of rejecting or replacing a mismatched link before extracting provider contents. Exploitation requires control of a trusted working directory, or of the directory named by TF_DATA_DIR, and an operator to run tofu init there; the result is arbitrary filesystem writes with the OpenTofu process's permissions.

CVSS severity6.1
Medium
EPSS probability0.23%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkAvailable
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Summary

What happened

Path traversal in OpenTofu before 1.10.10 and 1.11.0 through 1.11.6 allows attackers to write files via a malicious provider-cache symlink. During provider installation, tofu init treats a preexisting cache entry as a writable package directory and follows its symlink target instead of rejecting or replacing a mismatched link before extracting provider contents. Exploitation requires control of a trusted working directory, or of the directory named by TF_DATA_DIR, and an operator to run tofu init there; the result is arbitrary filesystem writes with the OpenTofu process's permissions.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-74796
Published
Aug 16, 2026
Updated
Aug 17, 2026
Vendor
OpenTofu
Product
OpenTofu
Classifications
CWE-59
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 16, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 17, 2026Record 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.

  1. Affected versionversion=0 <1.11.7

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

OpenTofu · OpenTofuversion=0 <1.11.7

Published CVSS scores

7.0VulnCheckCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:H/SA:N
6.1OpenTofu GitHub Security AdvisoryCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N

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.

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No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-59Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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