Description
Hugo is a static site generator. In versions after v0.123.0 and before v0.166.0, Hugo's symlink confinement checks stopped at the mount root itself, so a theme or module checked into themes/ (or a vendored module) could contain a symlink at a mount root (for example themes/mytheme/assets -> /some/dir/outside). Files behind such a symlink were readable during a site build through resources.Get, resources.Match and similar functions, and could be published to public/ via static mounts, bypassing the rule that theme and module mount sources must be local paths. Modules fetched via Go modules are not affected because Go module zips cannot contain symlinks, and this is not an escalation for the main project, which may already mount absolute paths by configuration. Fixed in v0.166.0, where symlinked mount roots and symlinked directories between the mount root and the module directory are treated as non-existent for all modules. As a workaround, inspect themes/ and vendored modules for symlinks at mount roots before building, or replace symlinks with explicit mounts.
Affected products
gohugo: hugo
References2
- github.com/gohugoio/hugo/security/advisories/GHSA-797m-7j5g-3rpr Vendor Advisory
- www.vulncheck.com/advisories/hugo-before-0.166.0-path-traversal… Third Party Advisory
Metrics
- CVSS 3.1
-
7.5
HIGH
Score source: CNA
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - CVSS 4.0
-
8.7
HIGH
Score source: CNA
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X - EPSS — exploit probability
- 0% percentile: 36 · as of 9 November 2026
- CWE
- CWE-59
Could this be exploited in your environment?
A patch closes the known hole. A penetration test shows what an attacker can still reach — with proof.