Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessPublish malicious Hugo theme/module
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DeliveryVictim installs and runs build
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ExploitSymlink/junction at virtual ancestor resolves
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Executionresources.Match reads files outside root
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ImpactLocal files published to site output
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V5 - File Handling Symlink resolution safety
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| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires the victim to install and build with an attacker-controlled Hugo theme or module (v0.162.0 through v0.166.x), and the attacker must place a symlink or NTFS junction at a virtual ancestor directory of a nested mount so that resources.Match follows it during a build. Limiting factors: this is local/build-time only (AV:L) and requires active user interaction (UI:A) - specifically the deliberate adoption and build of an untrusted third-party theme/module; it is not remotely triggerable against a running site, and impact is confined to disclosure of files readable by the build process on the build host. |
| Impact | This is a moderate, conditional risk rather than a top-priority emergency. The vendor-supplied CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H) is internally consistent with the description: exploitation is local and requires active user interaction (the victim must install an attacker-controlled theme/module and run a Hugo build), yielding high confidentiality impact but no integrity or availability impact. No EPSS score, no CISA KEV listing, and no public POC are present in the provided data, so there is no evidence of active or widespread exploitation - consistent with a supply-chain/trust-abuse flaw that depends on a developer voluntarily using a malicious theme. The key tension is between the PR:N rating (no authentication needed) and the real-world precondition that the attacker must first get their malicious theme/module adopted and built by the target; CVSS captures this via UI:A and AV:L rather than PR, which is technically correct but understates the social-engineering/supply-chain barrier. Net: a legitimate issue to patch in CI/build pipelines that consume third-party Hugo themes, but not an internet-facing, mass-exploitable vulnerability. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker publishes or compromises a Hugo theme/module and plants a symlink or NTFS junction at a virtual ancestor directory of a nested mount. A developer who adds that theme and runs a Hugo build (v0.162.0-0.166.x) triggers resources.Match, which follows the link and reads/publishes files from outside the theme root - potentially leaking secrets, credentials, or source from the build host into the generated site. No public exploit code is identified in the provided data. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 12, 2026
Local file disclosure in Hugo v0.162.0 through v0.166.x allows an attacker-controlled theme or module to place a symlink or NTFS junction at a virtual ancestor directory of a nested mount, causing resources.Match to list and publish files outside the theme/module root during a site build. Affected users must install and build with an untrusted third-party theme or module; exploitation is local to the build host and requires user interaction, with impact limited to disclosure of files readable by the build process. No public exploit identified at time of analysis; vendor-released patch is v0.167.0.
RemediationAI
Upgrade to Hugo v0.167.0 or later; this is the vendor-released patch and resolves the improper link resolution (see advisory GHSA-6c8w-mpp8-9w47 at https://github.com/gohugoio/hugo/security/advisories/GHSA-6c8w-mpp8-9w47). If upgrading is not immediately possible, avoid building sites with untrusted third-party themes or modules, and audit all themes/modules for symlinks or NTFS junctions at nested-mount ancestor paths before building. As a compensating control, run builds in a sandbox or container with a read-only or minimal filesystem view so that the build process cannot read sensitive files outside the project directory; trade-offs include reduced build performance and potential breakage of legitimate themes that rely on filesystem access. Note that no vendor patch is available for versions before v0.167.0, and these mitigations do not fix the underlying path-resolution flaw.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
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Technical ContextAI · show details
Hugo is a Go-based static site generator that supports themes and modules via a virtual file system with mounts. CWE-59 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access) arises here because Hugo's path resolution for nested mount ancestor directories did not properly constrain symlinks or NTFS junctions to the module root, allowing resources.Match to follow a link placed at a virtual ancestor and enumerate files outside that root during builds. The CPE cpe:2.3:a:gohugoio:hugo:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* covers the affected v0.162.0 through v0.166.x range. The vulnerability is local/build-time only and requires the victim to adopt and build an attacker-controlled theme or module; it is not remotely triggerable against a running Hugo site, and the assessed impact is confidentiality-only (C:H/I:N/A:N) on the build host. No privileges are required (PR:N), but user interaction (UI:A) is required - the victim must deliberately install and build with an untrusted theme or module.
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Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Local build-time flaw requiring the victim to adopt and build a malicious theme (AV:L, UI:R); no privileges needed (PR:N); file disclosure gives C:H with no integrity or availability impact.
Primary rating from Vendor (VulnCheck).
CVSS VectorVendor: VulnCheck
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
Hugo from v0.162.0 before v0.167.0 contains an improper link resolution vulnerability that lets malicious themes or modules expose files outside their root via nested-mount ancestor directories. Attackers controlling a theme can place a symlink or NTFS junction at a virtual ancestor directory, causing resources.Match to list and publish local files during builds.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Information disclosure occurs when an application unintentionally exposes sensitive data that aids attackers in reconnaissance or directly compromises security.
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EUVD-2026-98159
GHSA-38r7-h6rh-gjv9
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Exploit-DB