Some people use the phrase "insecure temporary file" when referring to a link following weakness, but other weaknesses can produce insecure temporary files without any symlink involvement at all.

Phases: Architecture and Design; Implementation

Follow the principle of least privilege when assigning access rights to files. Denying access to a file can prevent an attacker from replacing that file with a link to a sensitive file. Ensure good compartmentalization in the system to provide protected areas that can be trusted.

: Soft links are a UNIX term that is synonymous with simple shortcuts on windows based platforms.

Windows simple shortcuts, sometimes referred to as soft links, can be exploited remotely since an ".LNK" file can be uploaded like a normal file.

Link following vulnerabilities are Multi-factor Vulnerabilities (MFV). They are the combination of multiple elements: file or directory permissions, filename predictability, race conditions, and in some cases, a design limitation in which there is no mechanism for performing atomic file creation operations.

Some potential factors are race conditions, permissions, and predictability.

UNIX hard links, and Windows hard/soft links are under-studied and under-reported.