Improper Link Resolution Before File Access in QFileSystemEngine on Windows
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- Passive
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Attack requirements
- Present
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- No fix listed
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA.
Summary
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
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Important. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
Not affected: 5 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2025-4211
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-8cgq-rf3m-gjm4
References
More qt vulnerabilities
- TI-2024-23902 QAbstractOAuth in Qt Network Authorization in Qt before 5.15.17, 6.x before 6.2.13, 6.3.x… CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2022-21359 Heap-based buffer overflow in Qt CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2022-19524 Integer overflow in Qt CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2023-18997 In Qt before 5.15.15, 6.x before 6.2.9, and 6.3.x through 6.5.x before 6.5.2, there can… CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2021-09305 Integer Overflow vulnerability in qsvghandler.cpp in Qt qtsvg versions 5.15.1, 6.0.0… CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 5.5
- TI-2023-28356 An issue was discovered in the HTTP2 implementation in Qt before 5.15.17, 6.x before… CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
Sources
- CVE-2025-4211 · CVE Program
- CVE-2025-4211 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-8cgq-rf3m-gjm4 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2025-4211 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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