VulnerabilityPublished 10 Jan 2026Updated 12 Jan 2026

CVE-2026-22701: tox-dev filelock · Link Following

Affects tox-dev filelockSource CVE Database V5

Mentioned vulnerabilities

CVE-2025-68146

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.3 Medium : upgrade to 3.20.3 when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 11:07 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.3Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 2% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 3.20.3

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H

Attack Vector: Local
Attack Complexity: High
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: Low
Availability: High

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Local: The vulnerable component is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either: the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or remotely (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., tricking a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
Attack Complexity: High: A successful attack depends on conditions beyond the attacker's control. That is, a successful attack cannot be accomplished at will, but requires the attacker to invest in some measurable amount of effort in preparation or execution against the vulnerable component before a successful attack can be expected. For example, a successful attack may require an attacker to: gather knowledge about the environment in which the vulnerable target/component exists; prepare the target environment to improve exploit reliability; or inject themselves into the logical network path between the target and the resource requested by the victim in order to read and/or modify network communications (e.g., a man in the middle attack).
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact on the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 10 Jan 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by 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.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade tox-dev filelock to 3.20.3.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
tox-devfilelock	Affected <3.20.3	Fixed in 3.20.3
PyPIfilelock`pkg:pypi/filelock`Other threats	Affected <3.20.3	Fixed in 3.20.3

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

European organizations should immediately upgrade all instances of the filelock package to version 3.20.3 or later to apply the official patch. In environments where immediate upgrade is not feasible, implement strict filesystem permissions to restrict symlink creation rights to trusted users only. Employ monitoring and alerting for unusual symlink creation activities in directories where lock files reside. Use containerization or sandboxing to isolate applications using filelock, limiting the potential impact of local exploits. Conduct regular audits of Python dependencies and enforce secure coding practices to avoid TOCTOU vulnerabilities. For critical systems, consider implementing additional locking mechanisms or using alternative libraries with proven resistance to race conditions. Educate developers and system administrators about the risks of TOCTOU race conditions and the importance of timely patching. Finally, review internal access controls to minimize the number of users with local filesystem privileges that could be exploited.

Description

## Vulnerability Summary **Title:** Time-of-Check-Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) Symlink Vulnerability in SoftFileLock **Affected Component:** `filelock` package - `SoftFileLock` class **File:** `src/filelock/_soft.py` lines 17-27 **CWE:** CWE-362, CWE-367, CWE-59 --- ## Description A TOCTOU race condition vulnerability exists in the `SoftFileLock` implementation of the filelock package. An attacker with local filesystem access and permission to create symlinks can exploit a race condition between the permission validation and file creation to cause lock operations to fail or behave unexpectedly. The vulnerability occurs in the `_acquire()` method between `raise_on_not_writable_file()` (permission check) and `os.open()` (file creation). During this race window, an attacker can create a symlink at the lock file path, potentially causing the lock to operate on an unintended target file or leading to denial of service. ### Attack Scenario ``` 1. Lock attempts to acquire on /tmp/app.lock 2. Permission validation passes 3. [RACE WINDOW] - Attacker creates: ln -s /tmp/important.txt /tmp/app.lock 4. os.open() tries to create lock file 5. Lock operates on attacker-controlled target file or fails ``` --- ## Impact _What kind of vulnerability is it? Who is impacted?_ This is a **Time-of-Check-Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) race condition vulnerability** affecting any application using `SoftFileLock` for inter-process synchronization. **Affected Users:** - Applications using `filelock.SoftFileLock` directly - Applications using the fallback `FileLock` on systems without `fcntl` support (e.g., GraalPy) **Consequences:** - **Silent lock acquisition failure** - applications may not detect that exclusive resource access is not guaranteed - **Denial of Service** - attacker can prevent lock file creation by maintaining symlink - **Resource serialization failures** - multiple processes may acquire "locks" simultaneously - **Unintended file operations** - lock could operate on attacker-controlled files **CVSS v4.0 Score:** 5.6 (Medium) **Vector:** CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AT:L/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N **Attack Requirements:** - Local filesystem access to the directory containing lock files - Permission to create symlinks (standard for regular unprivileged users on Unix/Linux) - Ability to time the symlink creation during the narrow race window --- ## Patches _Has the problem been patched? What versions should users upgrade to?_ Yes, the vulnerability has been patched by adding the `O_NOFOLLOW` flag to prevent symlink following during lock file creation. **Patched Version:** Next release (commit: 255ed068bc85d1ef406e50a135e1459170dd1bf0) **Mitigation Details:** - The `O_NOFOLLOW` flag is added conditionally and gracefully degrades on platforms without support - On platforms with `O_NOFOLLOW` support (most modern systems): symlink attacks are completely prevented - On platforms without `O_NOFOLLOW` (e.g., GraalPy): TOCTOU window remains but is documented **Users should:** - Upgrade to the patched version when available - For critical deployments, consider using `UnixFileLock` or `WindowsFileLock` instead of the fallback `SoftFileLock` --- ## Workarounds _Is there a way for users to fix or remediate the vulnerability without upgrading?_ For users unable to update immediately: 1. **Avoid `SoftFileLock` in security-sensitive contexts** - use `UnixFileLock` or `WindowsFileLock` when available (these were already patched for CVE-2025-68146) 2. **Restrict filesystem permissions** - prevent untrusted users from creating symlinks in lock file directories: ```bash chmod 700 /path/to/lock/directory ``` 3. **Use process isolation** - isolate untrusted code from lock file paths to prevent symlink creation 4. **Monitor lock operations** - implement application-level checks to verify lock acquisitions are successful before proceeding with critical operations --- ## References _Are there any links users can visit to find out more?_ - **Similar Vulnerability:** CVE-2025-68146 (TOCTOU vulnerability in UnixFileLock/WindowsFileLock) - **CWE-362 (Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource):** https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/362.html - **CWE-367 (Time-of-check Time-of-use Race Condition):** https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/367.html - **CWE-59 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access):** https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/59.html - **O_NOFOLLOW documentation:** https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man2/open.2.html - **GitHub Repository:** https://github.com/tox-dev/filelock --- **Reported by:** George Tsigourakos (@tsigouris007)

Impact

For European organizations, the impact of this vulnerability depends largely on the deployment context of the filelock package. Organizations using Python applications that rely on filelock for concurrency control on shared filesystems or multi-user environments are at risk. Exploitation could lead to denial of service by causing lock failures, potentially disrupting critical processes that depend on file locking for data consistency. Additionally, the integrity of files could be compromised if locks are redirected to unintended files, possibly leading to data corruption or unauthorized file modifications. Sectors with high reliance on Python automation, data processing, or multi-user systems—such as finance, healthcare, and research institutions—may face operational disruptions. The requirement for local access and symlink creation permissions reduces the risk of remote exploitation but highlights the importance of internal security controls. Attackers with insider access or compromised local accounts could leverage this vulnerability to escalate impact. Overall, the vulnerability poses a moderate risk to confidentiality (none), integrity (low), and availability (high) of affected systems.

Summary

The vulnerability CVE-2026-22701 resides in the Python filelock package, specifically in the SoftFileLock implementation prior to version 3.20.3. The issue is a time-of-check to time-of-use (TOCTOU) race condition occurring in the _acquire() method. During lock acquisition, the function raise_on_not_writable_file() performs a permission check on the lock file path, followed by os.open() to create or open the lock file. Between these two operations, an attacker with local filesystem access and the ability to create symbolic links can introduce a symlink at the lock file path. This symlink can redirect the lock operation to an unintended target file, causing the lock to fail or behave unpredictably. Such behavior can lead to denial of service by preventing proper locking or can compromise the integrity of files by locking or modifying unintended files. The vulnerability requires local access with permissions to create symlinks, which limits remote exploitation but remains critical in shared or multi-tenant environments. The issue is classified under CWE-59 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access), CWE-362 (Race Condition), and CWE-367 (Time-of-check Time-of-use Race Condition). The vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 score of 5.3 (medium severity), reflecting its moderate impact and exploitation complexity. No known exploits are reported in the wild, and the issue has been addressed in filelock version 3.20.3.

CWE-59Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following') (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: MediumOWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended resource.
Architecture and Design · Separation of Privilege
Follow the principle of least privilege when assigning access rights to entities in a software system.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Symlink Attack (opens in a new tab)
Using Malicious Files (opens in a new tab)
Leverage Executable Code in Non-Executable Files (opens in a new tab)
Manipulating Web Input to File System Calls (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).
CWE-362Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition') (opens in a new tab)
Class weaknessLikelihood of exploit: MediumOWASP Top 10 A06:2025: Insecure Design (opens in a new tab)
The product contains a concurrent code sequence that requires temporary, exclusive access to a shared resource, but a timing window exists in which the shared resource can be modified by another code sequence operating concurrently.
Architecture and Design
In languages that support it, use synchronization primitives. Only wrap these around critical code to minimize the impact on performance.
Architecture and Design
Use thread-safe capabilities such as the data access abstraction in Spring.
Architecture and Design
Minimize the usage of shared resources in order to remove as much complexity as possible from the control flow and to reduce the likelihood of unexpected conditions occurring.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Abuse Case (opens in a new tab)
Secure Design Principles (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V1.11.2 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Leveraging Time-of-Check and Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) Race Conditions (opens in a new tab)
Leveraging Race Conditions (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).
CWE-367Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: Medium
The product checks the state of a resource before using that resource, but the resource's state can change between the check and the use in a way that invalidates the results of the check.
Implementation
The most basic advice for TOCTOU vulnerabilities is to not perform a check before the use. This does not resolve the underlying issue of the execution of a function on a resource whose state and identity cannot be assured, but it does help to limit the false sense of security given by the check.
Implementation
When the file being altered is owned by the current user and group, set the effective gid and uid to that of the current user and group when executing this statement.
Architecture and Design
Limit the interleaving of operations on files from multiple processes.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Abuse Case (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V1.11.3 (opens in a new tab)
V11.1.6 (opens in a new tab)
V1.11.2 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Leveraging Race Conditions via Symbolic Links (opens in a new tab)
Leveraging Time-of-Check and Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) Race Conditions (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

Loading reviews…

Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 17 Jan 2026, 07:55 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-59, CWE-362, CWE-367

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats