Findings

CVE-2026-108981

ngx_cache_purge before 3.0.4 can allow file deletion via a symlink attack in certain situations where nginx and a served application (e.g., WordPress) run under the sa…

Published Oct 12, 2026 · updated Oct 14, 2026

ngx_cache_purge before 3.0.4 can allow file deletion via a symlink attack in certain situations where nginx and a served application (e.g., WordPress) run under the same user account. The attacker must be able to create a symlink inside the cache path. Version 3.0.4 fixes this for the case of a symlink created at an arbitrary earlier time, but does not resolve an applicable TOCTOU race condition. (The ngx_cache_purge module follows symlinks while walking the cache directory tree during purge operations. The module relies on nginx's ngx_walk_tree(), which relies on stat() and therefore follows symlinks.)

Timeline

Detection, updates, and resolution for this record.

  1. Oct 12, 2026 · NIST NVD

    Detected

    ngx_cache_purge before 3.0.4 can allow file deletion via a symlink attack in certain situations where nginx and a served application (e.g., WordPress) run under the same user account. The attacker must be able to create a symlink inside the cache path. Version 3.0.4 fixes this for the case of a symlink created at an arbitrary earlier time, but does not resolve an applicable TOCTOU race condition.

  2. Oct 14, 2026 · NIST NVD

    Updated

    ngx_cache_purge before 3.0.4 can allow file deletion via a symlink attack in certain situations where nginx and a served application (e.g., WordPress) run under the same user account. The attacker must be able to create a symlink inside the cache path. Version 3.0.4 fixes this for the case of a symlink created at an arbitrary earlier time, but does not resolve an applicable TOCTOU race condition.

Sources

  • CVE.orgCVE-2026-108981

    Official CVE identifier

    cve.org
  • NIST NVDCVE-2026-108981

    ngx_cache_purge before 3.0.4 can allow file deletion via a symlink attack in certain situations where nginx and a served application (e.g., WordPress) run under the same user account. The attacker must be able to create a symlink inside the cache path. Version 3.0.4 fixes this fo

    nvd.nist.gov

References

CVE-2026-108981 · ZeroDay Findings