Windows Hard Link

Windows hard links allow multiple file paths to point to the same underlying data on disk. If your application doesn't specifically check for and handle these links, an attacker can replace an expected file with a hard link to any other file on the same volume. This bypasses normal path-based security checks, as the application follows the link thinking it's accessing the original file. This becomes dangerous when privileged processes open files without link validation. For example, an attacker could link a temporary log file to a critical system file like AUTOEXEC.BAT. When the high-privilege process writes to what it thinks is a log, it actually overwrites system configuration. Similarly, reading operations could leak sensitive data, and deletion operations could damage system integrity by removing essential files through their alternate links.