# CVE-2021-28153: Path traversal in n/a > An attacker-controlled dangling symlink can cause GLib to create an unintended empty file at the symlink target, potentially leading to unauthorized file creation. - **Severity:** Medium 5.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N`) - **Exploited in the wild:** Not known - **Login needed:** Not needed - **Attackable:** Over the internet - **Victim action needed:** Not needed - **Fix available:** Yes - **Published:** 11 Mar 2021 - **Updated:** 14 Oct 2026 - **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2021-28153, ALSA-2022:8418, AZL-6439, CLSA-2021-1623075923, CLSA-2021-1634922588, DEBIAN-CVE-2021-28153, GHSA-9hh6-p5c5-mmmf, JLSEC-2025-158, MGASA-2021-0162, OESA-2021-1164, RHSA-2022:8418, SUSE-SU-2022:1455-1, SUSE-SU-2022:1455-2, SUSE-SU-2022:1758-1, SUSE-SU-2022:1758-2, SUSE-SU-2023:0174-1, UBUNTU-CVE-2021-28153, USN-4764-1 ## What is CVE-2021-28153? CVE-2021-28153 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 11 Mar 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim. ### Official description An issue was discovered in GNOME GLib before 2.66.8. When g_file_replace() is used with G_FILE_CREATE_REPLACE_DESTINATION to replace a path that is a dangling symlink, it incorrectly also creates the target of the symlink as an empty file, which could conceivably have security relevance if the symlink is attacker-controlled. (If the path is a symlink to a file that already exists, then the contents of that file correctly remain unchanged.) Weakness: CWE-59 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-28153? It affects 4 products. | Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | `mingw32-glib2` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 2.70.1-2.el9 | | `mingw32-glib2-static` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 2.70.1-2.el9 | | `mingw64-glib2` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 2.70.1-2.el9 | | `mingw64-glib2-static` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 2.70.1-2.el9 | | `mingw-glib2` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::crb | All versions | 0:2.70.1-2.el9 | | `mingw32-glib2` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::crb | All versions | 0:2.70.1-2.el9 | | `mingw32-glib2-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::crb | All versions | 0:2.70.1-2.el9 | | `mingw32-glib2-static` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::crb | All versions | 0:2.70.1-2.el9 | | `mingw64-glib2` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::crb | All versions | 0:2.70.1-2.el9 | | `mingw64-glib2-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::crb | All versions | 0:2.70.1-2.el9 | | `mingw64-glib2-static` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::crb | All versions | 0:2.70.1-2.el9 | | `glib2` | SUSE:Enterprise Storage 7 | All versions | 2.62.6-150200.3.10.1 | | `glib2` | SUSE:Enterprise Storage 7 | All versions | 2.62.6-150200.3.10.1 | | `glib2` | SUSE:Enterprise Storage 7.1 | All versions | 2.62.6-150200.3.10.1 | | `glib2` | SUSE:Enterprise Storage 7.1 | All versions | 2.62.6-150200.3.10.1 | | `glib2` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP2-LTSS | All versions | 2.62.6-150200.3.10.1 | | `glib2` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP2-LTSS | All versions | 2.62.6-150200.3.10.1 | | `glib2` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-ESPOS | All versions | 2.62.6-150200.3.10.1 | | `glib2` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-ESPOS | All versions | 2.62.6-150200.3.10.1 | | `glib2` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-LTSS | All versions | 2.62.6-150200.3.10.1 | | `glib2` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-LTSS | All versions | 2.62.6-150200.3.10.1 | | `glib2` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.0 | All versions | 2.62.6-150200.3.9.1 | | `glib2` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.1 | All versions | 2.62.6-150200.3.10.1 | | `glib2` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.2 | All versions | 2.62.6-150200.3.10.1 | | `glib2` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP3 | All versions | 2.62.6-150200.3.9.1 | | `glib2` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP2 | All versions | 2.62.6-150200.3.9.1 | | `glib2` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP3 | All versions | 2.62.6-150200.3.10.1 | | `glib2` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP3 | All versions | 2.62.6-150200.3.10.1 | | `glib2` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2-BCL | All versions | 2.48.2-12.28.1 | | `glib2` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4-LTSS | All versions | 2.48.2-12.28.1 | | `glib2` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5 | All versions | 2.48.2-12.28.1 | | `glib2` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2-LTSS | All versions | 2.62.6-150200.3.10.1 | | `glib2` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2-LTSS | All versions | 2.62.6-150200.3.10.1 | | `glib2` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3-LTSS | All versions | 2.62.6-150200.3.10.1 | | `glib2` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP4 | All versions | 2.48.2-12.28.1 | | `glib2` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP5 | All versions | 2.48.2-12.28.1 | | `glib2` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP2 | All versions | 2.62.6-150200.3.10.1 | | `glib2` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP2 | All versions | 2.62.6-150200.3.10.1 | | `glib2` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP3 | All versions | 2.62.6-150200.3.10.1 | | `glib2` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP3 | All versions | 2.62.6-150200.3.10.1 | Products: Broadcom Brocade Fabric Operating System Firmware, Debian Debian Linux, Fedoraproject Fedora, Gnome Glib. ## How do I fix CVE-2021-28153? Upgrade to a fixed version. ## Is CVE-2021-28153 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-28153 in the wild and no public exploit code. ## Other vulnerabilities in Debian Debian Linux - [CVE-2023-27534](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-27534/): Path traversal in https://github.com/curl/curl (high 8.8) - [CVE-2021-4197](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-4197/): Privilege escalation in kernel (high 7.8) - [CVE-2023-27538](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-27538/): Auth bypass in https://github.com/curl/curl (high 7.7) - [CVE-2021-27218](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-27218/): Integer overflow in n/a (high 7.5) - [CVE-2021-27219](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-27219/): Integer overflow in n/a (high 7.5) ## Fix prompt for AI coding agents ```text Check this codebase for CVE-2021-28153 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2021-28153 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 11 Mar 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim. Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-28153 in the wild and no public exploit code. Affected product: Debian Debian Linux. 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-2021-28153/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-28153/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-28153 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-28153 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-28153 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-28153/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.