# CVE-2016-10374: Path traversal in n/a

> Local attackers can overwrite arbitrary files via symlink attacks because the tool lacks protection when writing output to the current working directory.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 17 May 2017
- **Updated:** 17 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2016-10374, GHSA-hxj7-36fx-62r2, MGASA-2017-0301, UBUNTU-CVE-2016-10374

## What is CVE-2016-10374?

CVE-2016-10374 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in n/a, published on 17 May 2017. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

perltidy through 20160302, as used by perlcritic, check-all-the-things, and other software, relies on the current working directory for certain output files and does not have a symlink-attack protection mechanism, which allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files by creating a symlink, as demonstrated by creating a perltidy.ERR symlink that the victim cannot delete.

Weakness: CWE-59 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-10374?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Perltidy Project Perltidy.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-10374?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2016-10374 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-10374 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2014-2277](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-2277/): Path traversal in n/a (high 7.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-10374 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-10374 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in n/a, published on 17 May 2017. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-10374 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-2016-10374/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-10374/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-10374
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-10374
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-10374

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-10374/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.