# CVE-2025-55188: Path traversal in 7-Zip

> Attackers can exploit improper symbolic link handling during archive extraction to write files to arbitrary locations, potentially leading to code execution.

- **Severity:** Low 3.6 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 8 Aug 2025
- **Updated:** 4 Nov 2025
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2025-55188, GHSA-58pw-r2v4-pwjv, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-55188

## What is CVE-2025-55188?

CVE-2025-55188 is a low-severity path traversal vulnerability in 7-Zip, published on 8 Aug 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

7-Zip before 25.01 does not always properly handle symbolic links during extraction.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-55188?

It affects 1 product.


Products: 7-Zip 7-Zip.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-55188?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2025-55188 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-55188 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Public exploit code:

- 7z exploit POC versions prior to 25.01 (github_poc): https://github.com/hunters-sec/CVE-2025-55188-7z-exploit
- Proof-of-concept of CVE-2025-55188: 7-Zip arbitrary file write (github_poc): https://github.com/lunbun/CVE-2025-55188

## Other vulnerabilities in 7-Zip

- [CVE-2025-0411](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-0411/): 7-Zip Mark of the Web Bypass (high 7.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2008-6536](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-6536/): Other in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2026-48095](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-48095/): GHSL-2026-140_7-Zip: 7-Zip has a heap buffer overflow via NTFS compressed stream buffer under-allocation (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2018-10172](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-10172/): Privilege escalation in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2016-2335](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-2335/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 8.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-55188 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-55188 is a low-severity path traversal vulnerability in 7-Zip, published on 8 Aug 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.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-55188 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: 7-Zip. 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-2025-55188/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-55188/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-55188
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-55188
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-55188

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-55188/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.