CVE-2025-61731: Arbitrary file write using cgo pkg-config directive in cmd/go

Severity: high (CVSS 7.8 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.6% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-01-28 · updated 2026-09-10
Weakness: CWE-88

Description

Building a malicious file with cmd/go can cause can cause a write to an attacker-controlled file with partial control of the file content. The "#cgo pkg-config:" directive in a Go source file provides command-line arguments to provide to the Go pkg-config command. An attacker can provide a "--log-file" argument to this directive, causing pkg-config to write to an attacker-controlled location.

Affected products

Go: before 1.24.12; from 1.25.0 before 1.25.6 — fixed in 1.24.12, 1.25.6

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Go 1.24.12, 1.25.6. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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