Skip to content
Noroxi
CVE.org (no NVD analysis yet)· CNA GitHub_M

CVE-2026-112938: filelock: StrictSoftFileLock follows a symbolic link swapped in at <path>.filelock and creates claim files in a directory another local user chooses

MediumCVSS 5.8 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 23/100)

  • The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.10% (FIRST EPSS).
  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it. A low-privileged account is enough. No user action is required. Special conditions such as timing or configuration are required.
  • Fixed version: tox-dev filelock 4.2.1.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to tox-dev filelock 4.2.1 or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

filelock is a platform-independent file lock for Python. From 3.30.0 until 4.2.1, On POSIX platforms, StrictSoftFileLock and AsyncStrictSoftFileLock validate the coordination directory in _ensure_protocol_directory but later reach the claims directory through _open_directory by pathname, allowing a local account that can rename the coordination name to swap in a symbolic link between check and use during acquisition. That race can create and leave claim files in another writable directory or strand claims in a different strict lock so the second lock times out. Separately, the claims property and force_break follow a resting symbolic link without a race when the lock user inspects or recovers the lock. Claims inspection discloses a file name to the other account only if the resulting exception text or claim_name reaches that account through a shared log, CI output, or error report. A blind force_break recovery that removes live claims from another strict lock can allow two processes into that lock's critical section; this path reaches other strict locks, not arbitrary files. This issue is fixed in version 4.2.1.

Published
Nov 5, 2026
Updated
Nov 9, 2026
EPSS
0.1% · 1th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

23

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
23 / 40 · 5.8 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.1%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
none
Automatable
no
Technical impact
partial

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
—
CNA · GitHub_M
5.8
NVD has not scored this yet; the score shown is the CNA’s.

The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.

Get told when this record changes

  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • No public exploit code on record
  • A fix has been released

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

Follow CVE-2026-112938

When you'll hear from us

  • when it enters CISA KEV
  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

One daily email digest (06:00 UTC); connect a webhook for KEV listings and weaponized exploits every 10 minutes on paid plans, on the hour on the free plan.

Your free account also gets you

  • CVE alerts: add the products and versions you run, get the new CVEs that affect them
  • Uptime monitoring: 1 site, instant email when it goes down
  • Add your domain: subdomains and takeover risk scanned every week (1 domain)
  • 10 scans an hour on the security tools, at most 30 a day (3 a day without an account), an API key and MCP
  • All your scans in one panel: findings, what changed in the last scan, a report per domain or per client (PDF, share link)
All free tools

Sign up with email · Have an account? Sign in

Free account, no card. Unfollow any time.

Don't want an account? Get "Exploited this week" by email every MondayDon't want an account? RSS feed for tox-dev records
Is your version affected? Check it

Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

We use this product, ask for help

Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

—

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (GitHub_M). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • tox-dev filelock

    • >= 3.30.0, < 4.2.1affected

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Debian:12python-filelockfrom 0—
Debian:14python-filelockbefore 4.2.2-14.2.2-1
PyPIfilelockfrom 3.30.0 · before 4.2.14.2.1

Same product

tox-dev: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2026-112940filelock ReadWriteLock: SQLite reopens the lock database by name, so a planted symlink or journal file makes the lock user's process overwrite or unlink its…
    28Monitor
  • CVE-2025-68146filelock has TOCTOU race condition that allows symlink attacks during lock file creation
    26Monitor
  • CVE-2026-112911filelock: StrictSoftFileLock and SoftReadWriteLock adopt a protocol directory another user created first, losing mutual exclusion
    25Monitor

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2026-112908Nov 5, 2026 · filelock: StrictSoftFileLock creates its claim directories without the lock mode, so another local user with a write bit on them can end a live hold
    21Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2026-112910Nov 5, 2026 · filelock: WindowsFileLock ignores mode: a 0o600 lock file and the ReadWriteLock database inherit the directory ACL
    21Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2026-112913Nov 5, 2026 · filelock: ReadWriteLock on Windows acts on SQLite side files another local user places beside its database
    13Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
tox-dev filelock4.2.1 · descriptionVendor (CNA)
debian:python-filelock4.2.2-1 · Debian:14Package registry (OSV)
PyPI:filelock4.2.1Package registry (OSV)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

  1. Published
  2. Fix recordedsame day
  3. TodayNov 13, 2026+7 d
EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

  • CVE-2026-11294016 days apartfilelock ReadWriteLock: SQLite reopens the lock database by name, so a planted symlink or journal file makes the lock user's process overwrite or unlink its…
    28Monitor
  • CVE-2026-11291416 days apartfilelock: SoftFileLock stale-break restore follows a swapped-in symbolic link and hard-links a file of the user running the lock into the lock directory
    21Monitor

Not on record for this CVE: researcher credit · public bounty program.

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
  • A low-privileged account is enough.
  • No user action is required.
  • Special conditions such as timing or configuration are required.

If successful

Confidentiality
low · data can be read
Integrity
low · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
High
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
Low
Integrity impact
Low
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-363 · Race Condition Enabling Link Following

CVSS vector

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

nvd-secondary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

ATT&CK techniques

—

Change log

  1. SSVC exploitation— → none
  2. Exploit maturity— → none
  3. Fix✗ → ✓

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

Show all references (4 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records