A newly disclosed safety vulnerability within the in style 7-Zip file compression software program has raised vital issues within the cybersecurity group.
CVE-2025-55188, found and reported by safety researcher Landon on August 9, 2025, permits attackers to carry out arbitrary file writes throughout archive extraction, doubtlessly resulting in code execution on susceptible techniques.
The vulnerability impacts all variations of 7-Zip previous to 25.01 and stems from improper dealing with of symbolic hyperlinks through the extraction course of.
When customers extract a maliciously crafted archive containing unsafe symbolic hyperlinks, 7-Zip follows these hyperlinks throughout extraction, enabling attackers to jot down information to places exterior the meant extraction listing.
7-Zip Arbitrary File Write Vulnerability
The vulnerability exploits 7-Zip’s symbolic hyperlink processing mechanism. In keeping with the safety advisory, the assault requires particular situations to achieve success.
For Linux techniques, attackers want the goal to be utilizing a susceptible 7-Zip model whereas extracting an archive format that helps symbolic hyperlinks, equivalent to ZIP, TAR, 7Z, or RAR information. The exploitation course of is extra easy on Linux environments.
On Home windows techniques, further necessities should be met for profitable exploitation. The 7-Zip extraction course of should have elevated privileges or function in Home windows Developer Mode to create symbolic hyperlinks. This makes Home windows techniques considerably much less prone however not resistant to the assault.
As soon as these situations are met, attackers can craft malicious archives containing symbolic hyperlinks that time to delicate system information. When extracted, 7-Zip follows these symbolic hyperlinks, permitting attackers to overwrite important information equivalent to SSH keys, .bashrc information, or different system configurations.
Regardless of receiving a CVSS rating of two.7, which categorizes it as low severity, safety specialists warn that the sensible influence could possibly be way more vital. The vulnerability allows attackers to realize unauthorized entry and code execution by focusing on delicate information that management system habits.
Throughout a single extraction operation, attackers can try a number of file overwrites, growing their possibilities of compromising the goal system.
The vulnerability is especially regarding as a result of 7-Zip shows file paths earlier than symbolic hyperlink decision, permitting attackers to cover the true vacation spot of their malicious writes.
Mitigations
7-Zip model 25.01, launched on August 3, 2025, addresses this vulnerability with enhanced symbolic hyperlink dealing with. The replace contains vital safety enhancements to forestall unsafe symbolic hyperlink creation throughout archive extraction.
The brand new model introduces a command-line change (-snld20) that may bypass the default safety checks when creating symbolic hyperlinks, offering directors with managed flexibility whereas sustaining safety by default.
Safety researchers have emphasised the significance of fast patching, significantly given 7-Zip’s widespread utilization throughout enterprise and private computing environments. The vulnerability has been tracked in a number of safety databases and has prompted advisories from varied cybersecurity organizations.
Mitigation methods embrace updating to 7-Zip 25.01 instantly, avoiding extraction of archives from untrusted sources, and implementing sandboxed environments for dealing with unknown information. Organizations also needs to audit their techniques to make sure all 7-Zip installations are up to date, because the software program lacks automated replace capabilities.
This incident follows a sample of latest vulnerabilities in 7-Zip, together with CVE-2025-0411 and CVE-2024-11477, demonstrating the continued want for vigilant safety practices when dealing with compressed information from untrusted sources.
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