# CVE-2026-8170: ExtremeXOS Privilege Escalation via Symlink Following in File Utilities

> Low-privilege attackers can exploit symlink handling in file utilities to escalate privileges to root and modify system files on ExtremeXOS switches.

- **Severity:** High 8.7 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 20 Jul 2026
- **Updated:** 20 Jul 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-x4hp-453h-hp48

## What is CVE-2026-8170?

CVE-2026-8170 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Extreme Networks Switch Engine (EXOS), published on 20 Jul 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The mv, cp, and rm file utilities exposed within the ExtremeXOS (EXOS) shell environment fail to safely canonicalize paths and follow symbolic links outside of the intended privilege boundary. An attacker with low-privilege CLI access can create a symbolic link that references a privileged filesystem location and then invoke the affected utilities to read, modify, or replace security-critical files outside of their authorized scope. Under certain conditions, this may enable escalation to root-level access and persistent modification of the device software stack. Exploitation is possible remotely by an attacker holding a low-privilege account, or locally via the serial console.

Extreme would like to thank Hadrien Barral (Université Gustave Eiffel) and Georges-Axel Jaloyan (French Ministry of the Interior) for responsible disclosure of their findings.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-8170?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-8170?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-8170 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-8170 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-8170 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-8170 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-8170 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Extreme Networks Switch Engine (EXOS), published on 20 Jul 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-8170 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Extreme Networks Switch Engine (EXOS). 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-2026-8170/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-8170/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-8170
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-8170
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-8170

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-8170/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.