Common Weakness Enumeration

    CWE Definition / CWE-363

    CWE-363: Race Condition Enabling Link Following

    The product checks the status of a file or directory before accessing it, which produces a race condition in which the file can be replaced with a link before the access is performed, causing the product to access the wrong file.

    Published:19 Jul 2006
    Organization:MITRE
    Modified:11 Dec 2025

    Related Weakness

    CWE-367: Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition

    CWE-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')