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GHSA-4q92-rfm6-2cqx CVE-2026-25724

Claude Code has Permission Deny Bypass Through Symbolic Links

High npm
Severity
0.0 / 10
High · CVSS 4.0
Exploit chance (EPSS)
0.46%
Chance of exploitation in the next 30 days. Higher than 40.26% of scored vulnerabilities.
Known exploited
No
Not in CISA's catalog
Weakness
CWE-285 Improper Authorization
CWE-61 UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following
Fix
2.1.7
Upgrade @anthropic-ai/claude-code to this version or later

Description

Claude Code failed to strictly enforce deny rules configured in settings.json when accessing files through symbolic links. If a user explicitly denied Claude Code access to a file (such as /etc/passwd) and Claude Code had access to a symbolic link pointing to that file, it was possible for Claude Code to read the restricted file through the symlink without triggering deny rule enforcement.

Users on standard Claude Code auto-update received this fix automatically. Users performing manual updates are advised to update to the latest version.

Claude Code thanks https://hackerone.com/ofirh for reporting this issue.

Affected versions

npm

PackageVulnerableFixed in
@anthropic-ai/claude-code
< 2.1.7
2.1.7

How to fix

Move to the fixed version or later with your package manager, update the lockfile, and run your tests. If the package only arrives through another dependency, upgrade that dependency first. If none of its releases pulls a fixed version yet, force the version with your package manager's override.

@anthropic-ai/claude-code npm → 2.1.7

npm
npm install @anthropic-ai/claude-code@2.1.7
yarn
yarn add @anthropic-ai/claude-code@2.1.7
pnpm
pnpm add @anthropic-ai/claude-code@2.1.7

Severity breakdown

CVSS 4.0 0.0

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:P/VC:L/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Attack requirements
Present
Privileges required
None
User interaction
Passive
Confidentiality (vulnerable system)
Low
Integrity (vulnerable system)
Low
Availability (vulnerable system)
Low
Confidentiality (subsequent systems)
None
Integrity (subsequent systems)
None
Availability (subsequent systems)
None

CVSS 3.1 7.5

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

Weakness

CWE-285: Improper Authorization

The product does not perform or incorrectly performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action.

How to prevent it
  • Architecture and Design: Divide the product into anonymous, normal, privileged, and administrative areas. Reduce the attack surface by carefully mapping roles with data and functionality. Use role-based access control (RBAC) to enforce the roles at the appropriate boundaries. Note that this approach may not protect against horizontal authorization, i.e., it will not protect a user from attacking others with the same role.
  • Architecture and Design: Ensure that you perform access control checks related to your business logic. These checks may be different than the access control checks that you apply to more generic resources such as files, connections, processes, memory, and database records. For example, a database may restrict access for medical records to a specific database user, but each record might only be intended to be accessible to the patient and the patient's doctor.
  • Architecture and Design: Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid. For example, consider using authorization frameworks such as the JAAS Authorization Framework [REF-233] and the OWASP ESAPI Access Control feature [REF-45].
  • Architecture and Design: For web applications, make sure that the access control mechanism is enforced correctly at the server side on every page. Users should not be able to access any unauthorized functionality or information by simply requesting direct access to that page. One way to do this is to ensure that all pages containing sensitive information are not cached, and that all such pages restrict access to requests that are accompanied by an active and authenticated session token associated with a user who has the required permissions to access that page.
  • System Configuration, Installation: Use the access control capabilities of your operating system and server environment and define your access control lists accordingly. Use a "default deny" policy when defining these ACLs.

CWE-61: UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following

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

How to prevent it
  • Implementation: Symbolic link attacks often occur when a program creates a tmp directory that stores files/links. Access to the directory should be restricted to the program as to prevent attackers from manipulating the files.
  • 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.

References

Timeline

  1. Published
  2. Last updated by the source
  3. Latest EPSS score
AdvisorySeverityWhy it's related
GHSA-pq7j-f95f-qfcv
Claude Code: Plugin Hash Pin Bypass Allows Bypass of Hash Pinning
High Also affects @anthropic-ai/claude-code
GHSA-7835-87q9-rgvv
Claude Code: Sandbox Escape via Git Worktree Path Confusion Allows Unsandboxed Code Execution
High Also affects @anthropic-ai/claude-code
GHSA-4vp2-6q8c-pvq2
@anthropic-ai/claude-code has an Insecure Temporary File in /copy Command that Enables Response Disclosure and Symlink-Based File Write
Medium Also affects @anthropic-ai/claude-code
GHSA-fg94-h982-f3mm
Claude Code: Out-of-Band Data Exfiltration via Pre-Approved HuggingFace Domain in WebFetch
Critical Also affects @anthropic-ai/claude-code
GHSA-q5hj-mxqh-vv77
Claude Code: Trust Dialog Bypass via Git Worktree Spoofing Allows Arbitrary Code Execution
High Also affects @anthropic-ai/claude-code
GHSA-vp62-r36r-9xqp
Claude Code: Sandbox Escape via Symlink Following Allows Arbitrary File Write Outside Workspace
Critical Also affects @anthropic-ai/claude-code
GHSA-5cwg-9f6j-9jvx
Claude Code: Insecure System-Wide Configuration Loading Enables Local Privilege Escalation on Windows
High Also affects @anthropic-ai/claude-code
GHSA-mmgp-wc2j-qcv7
Claude Code has a Workspace Trust Dialog Bypass via Repo-Controlled Settings File
High Also affects @anthropic-ai/claude-code
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