Go cgo_import_dynamic Path Traversal & DLL Name Injection (CVE-2026-97042)
CVE-2026-97042 Published on November 11, 2026

Linker flag injection via cgo_import_dynamic and PE DLL names in cmd/cgo, cmd/compile, and cmd/link
Building a malicious package that uses "//go:cgo_import_dynamic" or links against a crafted PE object on Windows could pass unsafe library arguments to the external linker. The compiler only checked the first character of the library name in "//go:cgo_import_dynamic" directives and skipped validation in cgo-generated files. In addition, on Windows, "cmd/cgo" and "cmd/link" did not validate imported DLL names extracted from PE object files before emitting "-l<name>" flags for the external linker, allowing a crafted DLL name containing ".." path traversal or special characters to reference arbitrary files on disk. The compiler now validates every character of the library name in "//go:cgo_import_dynamic" directives (including in cgo-generated files on Windows) and rejects ".." path traversal, and "cmd/cgo" and "cmd/link" reject PE imported DLL names containing path separators, "..", ":", or leading "-" or "@".

NVD


Affected Versions

Go toolchain cmd/cgo: Go toolchain cmd/compile: Go toolchain cmd/link:

Exploit Probability

EPSS
0.23%
Percentile
14.45%

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) scores estimate the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. The percentile shows you how this score compares to all other vulnerabilities.