Description
Symlink following vulnerability in Gleam's Hex package export allows files outside the project root to be embedded in the generated package tarball. The file collection helpers (gleam_files, native_files, private_files) in compiler-cli/src/fs.rs use follow_links(true) when walking publishable directories such as src/ and priv/. The collected paths are added to the package archive via add_path_to_tar in compiler-cli/src/publish.rs without verifying that the resolved target remains within the project root. A symlink placed under a publishable directory will cause gleam export hex-tarball or gleam publish to embed the contents of the symlink target into the generated Hex package. An attacker with write access to the project repository can place a symlink in src/ or priv/ pointing to an arbitrary file. When a maintainer or CI pipeline runs gleam publish or gleam export hex-tarball, local files readable by the publisher (such as secrets, tokens, or SSH keys) are silently embedded into the published package artifact. This issue affects Gleam from 0.10.0-rc1 until 1.17.0.
Problem types
CWE-59 Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')
Product status
0.10.0-rc1 (semver) before 1.17.0
0.10.0-rc1 (semver) before 1.17.0
c82a2d83bd0c06cafdc196820deb3f89a9b3ff7c (git) before 6435a5528b9ae0449e2f32be579641ec485f6866
v0.10.0-rc1-elixir (other) before v1.17.0-elixir
v0.10.0-rc1-erlang (other) before v1.17.0-erlang
v0.10.0-rc1-node (other) before v1.17.0-node
v0.10.0-rc1-node-slim (other) before v1.17.0-node-slim
v0.10.0-rc1-elixir-slim (other) before v1.17.0-elixir-slim
v0.10.0-rc1-erlang-slim (other) before v1.17.0-erlang-slim
v0.10.0-rc1-erlang-alpine (other) before v1.17.0-erlang-alpine
v0.10.0-rc1-elixir-alpine (other) before v1.17.0-elixir-alpine
v0.10.0-rc1-node-alpine (other) before v1.17.0-node-alpine
v0.10.0-rc1-scratch (other) before v1.17.0-scratch
Credits
Aly (spect3r1)
Abdelrahman Ahmed Aboelkasem (0x2face)
Louis Pilfold
Jonatan Männchen / EEF
References
github.com/.../gleam/security/advisories/GHSA-qhh5-fg4c-8gqc
github.com/.../gleam/security/advisories/GHSA-qhh5-fg4c-8gqc
cna.erlef.org/cves/CVE-2026-42795.html
osv.dev/vulnerability/EEF-CVE-2026-42795
github.com/...ommit/6435a5528b9ae0449e2f32be579641ec485f6866