CVE-2025-4211 Improper Link Resolution Before File Access in QFileSystemEngine on Windows
Attackers can exploit improper link resolution in Qt's temporary file handling on Windows to access malicious files and escalate privileges.
- 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
- None listed
What is CVE-2025-4211?
CVE-2025-4211 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Qt, published on 16 May 2025. 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
Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following') vulnerability in QFileSystemEngine in the Qt corelib module on Windows which potentially allows Symlink Attacks and the use of Malicious Files. Issue originates from CVE-2024-38081. The vulnerability arises from the use of the GetTempPath API, which can be exploited by attackers to manipulate temporary file paths, potentially leading to unauthorized access and privilege escalation. The affected public API in the Qt Framework is QDir::tempPath() and anything that uses it, such as QStandardPaths with TempLocation, QTemporaryDir, and QTemporaryFile.
This issue affects all version of Qt up to and including 5.15.18, from 6.0.0 through 6.5.8, from 6.6.0 through 6.8.1. It is fixed in Qt 5.15.19, Qt 6.5.9, Qt 6.8.2, 6.9.0
Weakness: CWE-59
Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-4211?
How do I fix CVE-2025-4211?
No fix has been published for CVE-2025-4211 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Upgrade, and resolve every user-supplied path against an allowed base folder before opening it. More about Path traversal.
Is CVE-2025-4211 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-4211 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-8cgq-rf3m-gjm4, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-4211.