Weakness (CWE)
CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory
The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory.
More detail
Many file operations are intended to take place within a restricted directory. By using special elements such as ".." and "/" separators, attackers can escape outside of the restricted location to access files or directories that are elsewhere on the system. One of the most common special elements is the "../" sequence, which in most modern operating systems is interpreted as the parent directory of the current location. This is referred to as relative path traversal. Path traversal also covers the use of absolute pathnames such as "/usr/local/bin" to access unexpected files. This is referred to as absolute path traversal.
How to prevent it (8 mitigations)
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Implementation
Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does.
When performing input validation, consider all potentially relevant properties, including length, type of input, the full range of acceptable values, missing or extra inputs, syntax, consistency across related fields, and conformance to business rules. As an example of business rule logic, "boat" may be syntactically valid because it only contains alphanumeric characters, but it is not valid if the input is only expected to contain colors such as "red" or "blue."
Do not rely exclusively on looking for malicious or malformed inputs. This is likely to miss at least one undesirable input, especially if the code's environment changes. This can give attackers enough room to bypass the intended validation. However, denylists can be useful for detecting potential attacks or determining which inputs are so malformed that they should be rejected outright.
When validating filenames, use stringent allowlists that limit the character set to be used. If feasible, only allow a single "." character in the filename to avoid weaknesses such as CWE-23, and exclude directory separators such as "/" to avoid CWE-36. Use a list of allowable file extensions, which will help to avoid CWE-434.
Do not rely exclusively on a filtering mechanism that removes potentially dangerous characters. This is equivalent to a denylist, which may be incomplete (CWE-184). For example, filtering "/" is insufficient protection if the filesystem also supports the use of "\" as a directory separator. Another possible error could occur when the filtering is applied in a way that still produces dangerous data (CWE-182). For example, if "../" sequences are removed from the ".../...//" string in a sequential fashion, two instances of "../" would be removed from the original string, but the remaining characters would still form the "../" string.
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Architecture and Design
For any security checks that are performed on the client side, ensure that these checks are duplicated on the server side, in order to avoid CWE-602. Attackers can bypass the client-side checks by modifying values after the checks have been performed, or by changing the client to remove the client-side checks entirely. Then, these modified values would be submitted to the server.
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Implementation
Inputs should be decoded and canonicalized to the application's current internal representation before being validated (CWE-180). Make sure that the application does not decode the same input twice (CWE-174). Such errors could be used to bypass allowlist validation schemes by introducing dangerous inputs after they have been checked.
Use a built-in path canonicalization function (such as realpath() in C) that produces the canonical version of the pathname, which effectively removes ".." sequences and symbolic links (CWE-23, CWE-59). This includes:
- realpath() in C
- getCanonicalPath() in Java
- GetFullPath() in ASP.NET
- realpath() or abs_path() in Perl
- realpath() in PHP
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Architecture and Design
Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid [REF-1482].
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Operation
Use an application firewall that can detect attacks against this weakness. It can be beneficial in cases in which the code cannot be fixed (because it is controlled by a third party), as an emergency prevention measure while more comprehensive software assurance measures are applied, or to provide defense in depth [REF-1481].
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Architecture and Design, Operation
Run your code using the lowest privileges that are required to accomplish the necessary tasks [REF-76]. If possible, create isolated accounts with limited privileges that are only used for a single task. That way, a successful attack will not immediately give the attacker access to the rest of the software or its environment. For example, database applications rarely need to run as the database administrator, especially in day-to-day operations.
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Architecture and Design
When the set of acceptable objects, such as filenames or URLs, is limited or known, create a mapping from a set of fixed input values (such as numeric IDs) to the actual filenames or URLs, and reject all other inputs.
For example, ID 1 could map to "inbox.txt" and ID 2 could map to "profile.txt". Features such as the ESAPI AccessReferenceMap [REF-185] provide this capability.
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Architecture and Design, Operation
Run the code in a "jail" or similar sandbox environment that enforces strict boundaries between the process and the operating system. This may effectively restrict which files can be accessed in a particular directory or which commands can be executed by the software.
OS-level examples include the Unix chroot jail, AppArmor, and SELinux. In general, managed code may provide some protection. For example, java.io.FilePermission in the Java SecurityManager allows the software to specify restrictions on file operations.
This may not be a feasible solution, and it only limits the impact to the operating system; the rest of the application may still be subject to compromise.
Be careful to avoid CWE-243 and other weaknesses related to jails.
Source: MITRE CWE-22
588 results · Clear filters · Feed
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High 7.5CVE-2018-17297 Public exploit
Unzip function in ZipUtil.java in Hutool allows remote attackers to overwrite arbitrary files via directory traversal
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Medium 5.3CVE-2018-8041 Public exploit
Apache Camel's Mail is vulnerable to path traversal
Apache Camel's Mail 2.20.0 through 2.20.3, 2.21.0 through 2.21.1 and 2.22.0 is vulnerable to path traversal.
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Unscored —CVE-2017-16744 Public exploit
A path traversal vulnerability in Tridium Niagara AX Versions 3.8 and prior and Niagara 4 systems Versions 4.4 and prio…
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Critical 9.1
MikroTik RouterOS through 6.42 allows unauthenticated remote attackers to read arbitrary files and remote authenticated…
KEV Dec 1, 2021 -
Medium 5.5
Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory in zt-zip
zt-zip before 1.13 is vulnerable to directory traversal, allowing attackers to write to arbitrary files via a ../ (dot dot slash) in a Zip archive entry that is mishandled during extraction. This vulnerability is also known as 'Zip-Slip'.
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Medium 6.5
Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory in Zip4j
zip4j before 1.3.3 is vulnerable to directory traversal, allowing attackers to write to arbitrary files via a ../ (dot dot slash) in a Zip archive entry that is mishandled during extraction. This vulnerability is also known as 'Zip-Slip'.
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Medium 5.5
Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory in plexus-archiver
plexus-archiver before 3.6.0 is vulnerable to directory traversal, allowing attackers to write to arbitrary files via a ../ (dot dot slash) in an archive entry that is mishandled during extraction. This vulnerability is also known as 'Zip-Slip'.
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High 7.5CVE-2018-13864 Public exploit
Play Framework's Assets controller vulnerable to directory traversal
A directory traversal vulnerability has been found in the Assets controller in Play Framework 2.6.12 through 2.6.15 (fixed in 2.6.16) when running on Windows. It allows a remote attacker to download arbitrary files from the target server via specially crafted…
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High 7.5CVE-2016-10726 Public exploit
High severity vulnerability that affects org.dspace:dspace-xmlui
The XMLUI feature in DSpace before 3.6, 4.x before 4.5, and 5.x before 5.5 allows directory traversal via the themes/ path in an attack with two or more arbitrary characters and a colon before a pathname, as demonstrated by a themes/Reference/aa:etc/passwd UR…
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High 7.5
Sprockets path traversal leads to information leak
There is an information leak vulnerability in Sprockets. Versions Affected: 4.0.0.beta7 and lower, 3.7.1 and lower, 2.12.4 and lower. Specially crafted requests can be used to access files that exists on the filesystem that is outside an application's root di…
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High 7.8CVE-2018-12036 Public exploit
Path Traversal in OWASP Dependency-Check
OWASP Dependency-Check before 3.2.0 allows attackers to write to arbitrary files via a crafted archive that holds directory traversal filenames.
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Medium 4.7CVE-2018-1263 Public exploit
spring-integration-zip Arbitrary File Write
Addresses partial fix in CVE-2018-1261. Pivotal spring-integration-zip, versions prior to 1.0.2, exposes an arbitrary file write vulnerability, that can be achieved using a specially crafted zip archive (affects other archives as well, bzip2, tar, xz, war, cp…
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Unscored —CVE-2017-6020 Public exploit
Leao Consultoria e Desenvolvimento de Sistemas (LCDS) LTDA ME LAquis SCADA software versions prior to version 4.1.0.323…
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Medium 5.3CVE-2018-9159 Public exploit
Moderate severity vulnerability that affects com.sparkjava:spark-core
In Spark before 2.7.2, a remote attacker can read unintended static files via various representations of absolute or relative pathnames, as demonstrated by file: URLs and directory traversal sequences. NOTE: this product is unrelated to Ignite Realtime Spark.
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Medium 6.6
SAP CRM, 7.01, 7.02,7.30, 7.31, 7.33, 7.54, allows an attacker to exploit insufficient validation of path information p…
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High 7.5
uWSGI Directory Traversal vulnerability
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Medium 5.5CVE-2018-1047 Public exploit
Improper Input Validation in org.wildfly:wildfly-undertow
A flaw was found in Wildfly 9.x. A path traversal vulnerability through the org.wildfly.extension.undertow.deployment.ServletResourceManager.getResource method could lead to information disclosure of arbitrary local files.
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Unscored —
A Path Traversal issue was discovered in WebAccess versions 8.3.2 and earlier. An attacker has access to files within t…
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High 7.5
The WooCommerce plugin through 3.x for WordPress has a Directory Traversal Vulnerability via a /wp-content/plugins/wooc…
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High 7.5
jqueryFileTree vulnerable to Directory Traversal
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High 7.5
RubyGems may allow a maliciously crafted gem to overwrite files
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Unscored —CVE-2017-9640 Public exploit
A Path Traversal issue was discovered in Automated Logic Corporation (ALC) ALC WebCTRL, i-Vu, SiteScan Web prior to 6.5…
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Unscored —
Directory traversal vulnerability in PixlrEditorHandler.php in Synology Photo Station before 6.7.3-3432 and 6.3-2967 al…
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High 7.5
Directory traversal vulnerability in scheduler/ui/js/ffffffffbca41eb4/UIUtilJavaScriptJS in SAP NetWeaver Application S…
KEV Mar 19, 2025 -
Medium 4.3CVE-2015-8309 Public exploit
Cherry Music directory traversal vulnerability
Directory traversal vulnerability in Cherry Music before 0.36.0 allows remote authenticated users to read arbitrary files via the "value" parameter to "download."
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Medium 4.9
WSO2 Carbon directory traversal vulnerability
Directory traversal vulnerability in the LogViewer Admin Service in WSO2 Carbon 4.4.5 allows remote authenticated administrators to read arbitrary files via a .. (dot dot) in the logFile parameter to downloadgz-ajaxprocessor.jsp.
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Medium 5.9
Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory in JCraft JSch
Directory traversal vulnerability in JCraft JSch before 0.1.54 on Windows, when the mode is ChannelSftp.OVERWRITE, allows remote SFTP servers to write to arbitrary files via a ..\ (dot dot backslash) in a response to a recursive GET command.
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High 7.5CVE-2016-9177 Public exploit
Spark allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files via a .. (dot dot) in the URI
Directory traversal vulnerability in Spark 2.5 allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files via a .. (dot dot) in the URI.
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Medium 6.5
Apache OpenMeetings Directory Traversal vulnerability
Directory traversal vulnerability in the Import/Export System Backups functionality in Apache OpenMeetings before 3.1.1 allows remote authenticated administrators to write to arbitrary files via a .. (dot dot) in a ZIP archive entry.
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High 7.2
Path Traversal in Apache Jetspeed
Directory traversal vulnerability in the Import/Export function in the Portal Site Manager in Apache Jetspeed before 2.3.1 allows remote authenticated administrators to write to arbitrary files, and consequently execute arbitrary code, via a .. (dot dot) in a…
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High 7.5
Directory traversal vulnerability in SAP NetWeaver AS Java 7.1 through 7.5 allows remote attackers to read arbitrary fi…
KEV Nov 3, 2021 -
High 7.5
Directory traversal vulnerability in Action View in Ruby on Rails
Directory traversal vulnerability in Action View in Ruby on Rails before 3.2.22.1, 4.0.x and 4.1.x before 4.1.14.1, 4.2.x before 4.2.5.1, and 5.x before 5.0.0.beta1.1 allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files by leveraging an application's unrestricted …
KEV Mar 25, 2022 -
Medium —
Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory in Apache ActiveMQ
Directory traversal vulnerability in the fileserver upload/download functionality for blob messages in Apache ActiveMQ 5.x before 5.11.2 for Windows allows remote attackers to create JSP files in arbitrary directories via unspecified vectors.
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Medium —
Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory in Elasticsearch
Directory traversal vulnerability in Elasticsearch before 1.6.1 allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files via unspecified vectors related to snapshot API calls.
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Medium —CVE-2014-1836 Public exploit
ImpressCMS Path Traversal to Arbitrary File Delete
Absolute path traversal vulnerability in htdocs/libraries/image-editor/image-edit.php in ImpressCMS before 1.3.6 allows remote attackers to delete arbitrary files via a full pathname in the image_path parameter in a cancel action.
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Medium —
Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory in Elasticsearch
Directory traversal vulnerability in Elasticsearch before 1.4.5 and 1.5.x before 1.5.2, when a site plugin is enabled, allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files via unspecified vectors.
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High 7.5
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KEV Mar 25, 2022 -
Medium —
MAGMI plugin for Magento Server Directory Traversal
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High 7.8
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KEV May 25, 2022 -
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Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory in JBoss Undertow
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