# CVE-2015-1197: Path traversal in n/a

> Local attackers can overwrite arbitrary files via symlink attacks when extracting archives with specific options, requiring user interaction to extract the malicious archive.

- **Severity:** Low 1.9 (`AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 19 Feb 2015
- **Updated:** 14 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** CLEANSTART-2024-DM54959, CVE-2017-7516, DEBIAN-CVE-2015-1197, GHSA-447h-6vgc-mg6p, OESA-2023-1300, OESA-2023-1336, OESA-2023-1337, OESA-2023-1338, UBUNTU-CVE-2015-1197

## What is CVE-2015-1197?

CVE-2015-1197 is a low-severity path traversal vulnerability in n/a, published on 19 Feb 2015. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

cpio 2.11, when using the --no-absolute-filenames option, allows local users to write to arbitrary files via a symlink attack on a file in an archive.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2015-1197?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Gnu Cpio.

## How do I fix CVE-2015-1197?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2015-1197 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2015-1197 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2021-38185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-38185/): Integer overflow in n/a (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2010-4226](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-4226/): Path traversal in n/a (high 7.2)
- [CVE-2010-0624](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-0624/): Memory corruption in n/a (medium 6.8)
- [CVE-2019-14866](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-14866/): Path traversal in cpio (medium 6.7)
- [CVE-2023-7216](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-7216/): Cpio: extraction allows symlinks which enables remote command execution (medium 5.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2015-1197 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2015-1197 is a low-severity path traversal vulnerability in n/a, published on 19 Feb 2015. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2015-1197 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-1197/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-1197/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2015-1197
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-1197
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2015-1197

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-1197/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.