CVE-2023-25168 Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following allowing the deletion of files and directories on the host system in wings
An attacker with an allocated server can delete files and directories on the host system via symlink following in Wings.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2023-25168?
CVE-2023-25168 is a critical path traversal vulnerability in pterodactyl wings, published on 8 Feb 2023. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
Wings is Pterodactyl's server control plane. This vulnerability can be used to delete files and directories recursively on the host system. This vulnerability can be combined with `GHSA-p8r3-83r8-jwj5` to overwrite files on the host system. In order to use this exploit, an attacker must have an existing "server" allocated and controlled by Wings. This vulnerability has been resolved in version `v1.11.4` of Wings, and has been back-ported to the 1.7 release series in `v1.7.4`. Anyone running `v1.11.x` should upgrade to `v1.11.4` and anyone running `v1.7.x` should upgrade to `v1.7.4`. There are no known workarounds for this issue.
Weakness: CWE-59
Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-25168?
5 open source packages ship an affected version, including github.com/pterodactyl/wings. It affects 1 product.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
github.com/pterodactyl/wings Go | All versions | 1.7.4, 1.11.4 |
github.com/pterodactyl/wings Go | All versions | 1.7.4 |
github.com/pterodactyl/wings Go | All versions | 1.7.4 |
github.com/pterodactyl/wings Go | From 1.11.0 | 1.11.4 |
github.com/pterodactyl/wings Go | From 1.11.0 | 1.11.4 |
Products include Pterodactyl Wings.
How do I fix CVE-2023-25168?
Upgrade github.com/pterodactyl/wings to a fixed version for your release line: 1.7.4 or 1.11.4.
Upgrade, and resolve every user-supplied path against an allowed base folder before opening it. More about Path traversal.
Is CVE-2023-25168 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-25168 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in pterodactyl wings
- CVE-2024-27102 Improper isolation of server file access in github.com/pterodactyl/wings
- CVE-2023-32080 Wings vulnerable to escape to host from installation container
- CVE-2024-34066 Arbitrary File Write/Read in Pterodactyl wings
- CVE-2023-25152 Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following in github.com/pterodactyl/wings
- CVE-2025-69199 Pterodactyl websocket endpoints have no visible rate limits or monitoring, allowing for DOS attacks
Sources
Also known as GHSA-66p8-j459-rq63, GO-2023-1555.