vulnerability / NVI-00009091 / Revision 3
FileBrowser: Symlink following escapes user scope allowing arbitrary file read outside the served directory
GitHub lists this reviewed advisory for github.com/gtsteffaniak/filebrowser/backend. Published version ranges and source prerequisites are shown below; this is not an inspection of a visitor’s application.
This report has not inspected your inventory, configuration, deployed build, reachability or evidence. A catalog listing and a severity score do not establish exposure or compromise.
01 / Meaning
Why it matters
Published affected context helps an owner decide what evidence to gather. This report has not examined your application.
8.6 high
GitHub source severity; exploitability and local consequence require separate evidence.
As of · GitHub Advisory Database
8.6 HIGH (3.1)
security-advisories@github.com severity; no combined Null risk score.
0.536%
FIRST EPSS model v2026.06.15; exploitation probability over 30 days, percentile 0.45229. Missing scores are unknown.
As of · FIRST EPSS
02 / Applicability
The affected context
Affected versions, configuration prerequisites and known exclusions are public. Confirm each one against the deployed service.
github.com/gtsteffaniak/filebrowser/backend
source listed< 0.0.0-20260814233832-4126edeb07a0
## Summary File read paths resolve symbolic links with `filepath.EvalSymlinks` and then operate on the resolved target without re-checking that the target still lies inside the user's source/scope. A symlink located inside a user's accessible directory that points outside the scope (for example to `/etc/passwd`, another tenant's directory, SSH keys, or container secrets) is followed transparently, and its contents are served through the normal download, preview, media, and OnlyOffice endpoints. Any authenticated user with download access can read files anywhere the server process can, whenever such a symlink is reachable in their scope. The same symlink-following read path is used by the public share endpoints, which are authorized only by a share hash and not by any account, so when a public share exposes a directory that contains such a symlink, an unauthenticated attacker holding only the share link reads files outside the scope with no credential. ## Details **1. Symlink resolution performs no containment check (`indexing/iteminfo/utils.go:110-119`)** ```go func ResolveSymlinks(path string) (string, bool, error) { resolvedPath, err := filepath.EvalSymlinks(path) /
03 / Response
What to do next
- investigate
Identify the exact component and deployed version, examine the linked publisher’s conditions, and retain evidence of any mitigation.
Confirm current vendor support, compatibility and deployment evidence. This report has not tested a fix in your system. FIRST EPSS
A fixed release is not deployment evidence.
Check current vendor support and compatibility. After making a change, verify the deployed build and relevant runtime conditions. Keep the evidence, owner and time. An updated lockfile alone does not prove what is running.
04 / Limits
What this report cannot establish
- Customer inventory, deployment, reachability and exploitation have not been inspected.
- NVD lastModified does not establish freshness of every associated CPE record.
05 / Provenance
Sources you can inspect
Each assertion retains its source. Mirrored records may repeat one underlying publisher; additional links are not independent corroboration.
- GHSA-mgqf-5mf5-prfj ↗
GitHub Advisory Database · vendor advisory
Observed . GitHub Advisory Database; CC-BY-4.0. Each advisory links its original attribution. Null normalizes fields.
- CVE-2026-116682 ↗
NIST National Vulnerability Database · official catalog
Observed . This product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.
- CVE-2026-116682 ↗
FIRST EPSS · official catalog
Observed . FIRST EPSS; probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, not local compromise. Dataset date/model retained; FIRST services terms apply.
Public revision history
Only published revisions appear here. Routine fetches do not create a material-change event.
- Revision 3 ·
Dated EPSS estimate updated; this is not a new disclosure or proof of exploitation.
- Revision 2 ·
Source facts changed; compare the preserved prior revision.
- Revision 1 ·
First indexed by Null; source disclosure date is shown separately.