CVE-2026-74796 OpenTofu before 1.11.7 Symlink Following Path Traversal
Attackers can exploit symlink validation flaws in OpenTofu to write provider files to arbitrary filesystem locations during initialization.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- A user has to click or open something
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-74796?
CVE-2026-74796 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in opentofu, published on 16 Aug 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Official description
OpenTofu before 1.11.7 fails to validate existing symlinks in the provider cache directory during initialization. Attackers can place a malicious symlink in a trusted working directory to cause tofu init to write provider package contents to arbitrary filesystem locations outside the working tree.
Weakness: CWE-59
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-74796?
5 open source packages ship an affected version, including github.com/opentofu/opentofu.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
github.com/opentofu/opentofu Go | All versions | 1.10.10, 1.11.7 |
github.com/opentofu/opentofu Go | All versions | 1.10.10 |
github.com/opentofu/opentofu Go | All versions | 1.10.10 |
github.com/opentofu/opentofu Go | From 1.11.0 | 1.11.7 |
github.com/opentofu/opentofu Go | From 1.11.0 | 1.11.7 |
How do I fix CVE-2026-74796?
Upgrade github.com/opentofu/opentofu to a fixed version for your release line: 1.10.10 or 1.11.7.
Upgrade, and resolve every user-supplied path against an allowed base folder before opening it. More about Path traversal.
Is CVE-2026-74796 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-74796 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-69hj-5jh6-6q99, GHSA-wcmj-x466-56mm, GO-2026-5705.