Overview
HashiCorp’s go-getter library, widely used for file downloading, has been found to be vulnerable to symlink attacks, potentially resulting in unauthorized read access beyond the designated directory boundaries. This vulnerability, designated as CVE-2025-8959, possesses a significant threat to system security and data integrity as it can lead to system compromise or data leakage.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-8959
Severity: High (7.5 CVSS Score)
Attack Vector: Symlink Attack
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: Unauthorized read access beyond the designated boundaries, leading to potential system compromise or data leakage.
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
HashiCorp go-getter | < 1.7.9 How the Exploit Works
The vulnerability is exploited through a symlink attack, where a malicious actor creates a symbolic link to a file outside the designated directory. This allows the attacker to bypass the directory restrictions, gaining read access to files that should be inaccessible. Any product or system using a vulnerable version of the go-getter library could be at risk, potentially exposing sensitive information or system files.
Conceptual Example Code
A conceptual example of the exploit in a shell command could be as follows:
# Attacker creates a symlink to a file outside the designated directory
ln -s /etc/passwd ./symlink
# Attacker uses go-getter to download the symlink, resulting in unauthorized access to /etc/passwd
go-getter ./symlink /path/to/downloadMitigation
Users are advised to upgrade to go-getter version 1.7.9 or later, which contains a patch for this vulnerability. If an upgrade is not immediately possible, a potential temporary mitigation could involve the use of a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) to monitor and block suspicious activity. However, these should not be considered long-term solutions, and an upgrade to a patched version of the software should be undertaken as soon as possible.