Summary
Pterodactyl Wings contains UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following resulting in deletion of files and directories on the host system
Workarounds
None at this time.
Impact
This vulnerability impacts anyone running the affected versions of Wings. The vulnerability can be used to delete files and directories recursively on the host system. This vulnerability can be combined with GHSA-p8r3-83r8-jwj5 to overwrite files on the host system.
In order to use this exploit, an attacker must have an existing "server" allocated and controlled by Wings. Information on how the exploitation of this vulnerability works will be released on February 24th, 2023 in North America.
CVE-2023-25168 has a CVSS score of 9.6 (Critical). The vector is network-reachable, low privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (1.7.4, 1.11.4); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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This vulnerability has been resolved in version v1.11.4 of Wings, and has been back-ported to the 1.7 release series in v1.7.4.
Anyone running v1.11.x should upgrade to v1.11.4 and anyone running v1.7.x should upgrade to v1.7.4.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2023-25168? CVE-2023-25168 is a critical-severity security vulnerability in github.com/pterodactyl/wings (go), affecting versions < 1.7.4. It is fixed in 1.7.4, 1.11.4.
- How severe is CVE-2023-25168? CVE-2023-25168 has a CVSS score of 9.6 (Critical). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Which versions of github.com/pterodactyl/wings are affected by CVE-2023-25168? github.com/pterodactyl/wings (go) versions < 1.7.4 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2023-25168? Yes. CVE-2023-25168 is fixed in 1.7.4, 1.11.4. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2023-25168 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-25168 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2023-25168 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
- How do I fix CVE-2023-25168?
- Upgrade
github.com/pterodactyl/wingsto 1.7.4 or later - Upgrade
github.com/pterodactyl/wingsto 1.11.4 or later
- Upgrade