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
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| gohugoio | hugo | < 0.166.0 | 0.166.0 |
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | hugo | 0.166.0-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | hugo | No fix yet | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 26.10 | hugo | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | hugo | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | hugo | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | hugo | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | hugo | No fix yet | — |
Show 2 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | hugo | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 24.04 LTS | hugo | No fix yet | — |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Hardened Images 1 | hugo | 0.166.0-0.1.hum1 | RHSA-2026:66266 |
Advisories 1
- RHSA-2026:66266 Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Hardened Images RPMs bug fix and enhancement update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Oct 20, 2026
References
- GitHub Security Advisory (GHSA-797m-7j5g-3rpr) vendor-advisory
- VulnCheck Advisory: Hugo before v0.166.0 Path Traversal via Symlinked Mount Roots third-party-advisory