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VulnerabilityPublished Updated

CVE-2024-54661: dest-unreach socat · UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following

Affects dest-unreach socatSource CVE Database V5

0

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 9.8 Critical.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 14:05 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score
9.8Critical
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.
EPSS
0.7% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 56% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 4 Dec 2024

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponised: no evidence on record.

    No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB

  4. Exploited in the wild: no evidence on record.

    Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation

  5. Observed by OffSeq Mirage: no evidence on record.

    No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

What to do

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
dest-unreach socatAffected
  • =1.6.0.0
  • =2.0.0-b1
Fixed in–

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2024-54661, organizations should immediately identify all socat instances running vulnerable versions (1.6.0.0 and 2.0.0-b1) and plan for prompt upgrades to version 1.8.0.2 or later once available. In the absence of an official patch, administrators should restrict write permissions to /tmp directories to prevent unauthorized symlink creation, for example by mounting /tmp with the 'noexec' and 'nosuid' options and using the 'sticky bit' to limit file deletion. Employing mandatory access control (MAC) frameworks like SELinux or AppArmor can help contain socat's file system interactions. Monitoring for unusual file system activity involving /tmp/$USER/stderr2 and related files can provide early detection of exploitation attempts. Network-level controls should limit exposure of socat services to trusted hosts only. Additionally, consider running socat under a dedicated, low-privilege user account to minimize impact if compromised. Regularly review vendor advisories for patches and apply them promptly. Finally, conduct security audits and penetration tests focusing on symlink vulnerabilities in temporary file handling.

Description

readline.sh in socat before1.8.0.2 relies on the /tmp/$USER/stderr2 file.

References

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