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)
-
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.
-
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.
-
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
-
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].
-
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].
-
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.
-
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.
-
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
7,248 results · Feed
-
High 7.5
Aspose Importer & Exporter WordPress Plugin < 3.0 Path Traversal via aspose_import_export_download.php
Aspose Importer & Exporter plugin for WordPress before 3.0 contains a path traversal vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to download arbitrary files via the unsanitized 'file' parameter. Attackers can send GET requests to aspose_import_export_…
-
High 7.5
ChurcHope WordPress Theme < 2.2 Path Traversal via downloadlink.php
ChurcHope theme for WordPress before 2.2 contains a path traversal vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to download arbitrary files through the 'file' parameter of /wp-content/themes/churchope/lib/downloadlink.php. Attackers can supply director…
-
High 7.5
NativeChurch WordPress Theme < 1.6.2 Arbitrary File Download via download.php
NativeChurch theme for WordPress before 1.6.2 contains a path traversal vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to download arbitrary files through the file parameter of download.php. Attackers can send GET requests with directory traversal sequen…
-
High 7.5
TinyMCE Thumbnail Gallery WordPress Plugin < 1.1.0 Path Traversal via download-image.php
TinyMCE Thumbnail Gallery plugin for WordPress before 1.1.0 contains a path traversal vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to read arbitrary files via the href parameter. Attackers can send GET requests to /php/download-image.php with traversal…
-
Critical 9.1
A arbitrary file write vulnerability exists in the boa formUploadFile functionality of X2000R (version(s): TOTOLINK-X20…
-
Medium 4.5
virtualenv: Seed replacement does not contain metadata deletion paths
virtualenv is a tool for creating isolated virtual python environments. Prior to 21.14.9, PipInstall._uninstall_previous_version() accepts existing seed-package metadata and _uninstall_dist() joins entries from top_level.txt and RECORD to site-packages withou…
-
Critical 9.9
Argo CD: A Jsonnet import can read files from the repo-server
Argo CD is a declarative, GitOps continuous delivery tool for Kubernetes. From 0.9.0 until 3.3.15, 3.4.10, 3.5.4, and 3.6.0-rc2, the repo-server evaluates .jsonnet files with an importer that does not confine import, importstr, or importbin to the repository …
-
Critical 9.1
Arbitrary file read and write in Google ADK TypeScript (@google/adk) FileArtifactService via path traversal in userId and sessionId
Path Traversal (CWE-22) in FileArtifactService in Google ADK TypeScript (@google/adk) versions 0.4.0 before 0.6.0 allows a remote unauthenticated attacker to read files matching the artifact directory layout or write files (when an agent tool invokes saveArti…
-
Medium 5.3
ApostropheCMS import-export tar guard misses './..' because it is a literal '../' substring test
ApostropheCMS is an open-source Node.js content management system. Prior to 3.7.0 of the import-export module, an authenticated importer can submit a tar entry whose normalized destination targets a directory while bypassing the literal parent-path substring …
-
Low 3.3
ApostropheCMS: Path traversal in uploadfs
ApostropheCMS is an open-source Node.js content management system, and uploadfs is its file storage library. Prior to uploadfs 1.28.0, attacker-controlled paths that reach the local backend can contain parent-directory segments that escape the configured uplo…
-
Medium 4.3
aaPanel Download Endpoint v2.py send_file path traversal
A flaw has been found in aaPanel up to 8.25.0. Impacted is the function send_file of the file BTPanel/routes/v2.py of the component Download Endpoint. Executing a manipulation of the argument filename can lead to path traversal. The attack can be executed rem…
-
High 8.1
FlexGet before 3.20.7 Path Traversal (Zip Slip) via decompress plugin
FlexGet before 3.20.7 contains a path traversal vulnerability in the decompress plugin that allows remote attackers to write arbitrary files by supplying malicious archive member paths. Attackers can deliver zip or rar archives with ../ sequences or absolute …
-
Medium 5.9
Vitest: Windows backslash traversal bypasses the @vitest/mocker redirect allowlist fix
Vitest is a Vite-native testing framework for JavaScript and TypeScript projects. From 4.1.11 until 4.1.12 and 5.0.3, isFileLoadingAllowed and the filesystem read interpret backslashes differently on Windows in packages/mocker/src/node/interceptorPlugin.ts. W…
-
Medium 6.3
Vite: First 4 bytes of files outside of `server.fs` setting is exposed by `?vite-wasm-instance`
Vite is a frontend tooling framework for JavaScript. From 8.2.0 until 8.2.4 and 8.3.3, the first 4 bytes of files outside of server.fs setting can be returned to the browser by a request containing ?vite-wasm-instance. Requests containing the ?vite-wasm-insta…
-
Medium 6.3
Vite: Files outside `server.fs.allow` could be served when project paths match system paths on non-Windows machine
Vite is a frontend tooling framework for JavaScript. Prior to 6.4.4, 7.3.7, 8.1.6, 8.2.4, and 8.3.3, import analysis can record a root-relative browser URL in safeModulePaths instead of the cleaned resolved module identifier. On a network-accessible, non-Wind…
-
High 7.2CVE-2026-92162 Public exploit
Flatpak vulnerable to path traversal via unvalidated "arch" parameter in DeployAppstream
Flatpak is a system for building, distributing, and running sandboxed desktop applications on Linux. Prior to version 1.18.1, on systems where at least one OCI remote is configured (most common on Fedora systems), a malicious local user in an active local ses…
-
High 7.4
DrayTek Vigor2960 swmconfigupload mainfunction.cgi cgiEscape path traversal
A security flaw has been discovered in DrayTek Vigor2960 1.5.1.6 Revision 8218. The affected element is the function cgiEscape of the file /cgi-bin/mainfunction.cgi of the component swmconfigupload. The manipulation of the argument multipart results in path t…
-
High 7.4
DrayTek Vigor2960 mainfunction.cgi setSWMProfile path traversal
A vulnerability was identified in DrayTek Vigor2960 1.5.1.6 Revision 8218. Impacted is the function setSWMProfile of the file /cgi-bin/mainfunction.cgi. The manipulation of the argument setSWMProfile leads to path traversal. It is possible to initiate the att…
-
High 7.4
DrayTek Vigor2960 Apmupload mainfunction.cgi path traversal
A vulnerability was found in DrayTek Vigor2960 1.5.1.6 Revision 8218. This vulnerability affects unknown code of the file /cgi-bin/mainfunction.cgi of the component Apmupload. Performing a manipulation of the argument action results in path traversal. The att…
-
High 7.5
uTox through 0.18.1 Path Traversal via Auto-Accepted File Transfers
uTox through 0.18.1 contains a path traversal vulnerability that allows Tox friends to write arbitrary files by sending absolute or ../ file names to victims with auto-accept enabled. Attackers can overwrite shell startup files or plant crafted .ftinfo resume…
-
High 8.2
A vulnerability could allow an authenticated attacker to write files to arbitrary locations on the system.
-
High 8.2
A path traversal vulnerability could allow an authenticated attacker to read arbitrary files on the system.
-
Medium 5.5
A path handling issue was addressed with improved validation. This issue is fixed in macOS Golden Gate 27. An app may b…
-
Medium 6.6
H3C Magic NX15 upload importprofile path traversal
A weakness has been identified in H3C Magic NX15 V100R017. This affects the function importprofile of the file /api/upload. This manipulation of the argument fileName causes path traversal. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. The exploit has been …
-
High 8.2CVE-2026-53995 Public exploit
MLflow 3.17.1 and prior Path Traversal via Trace ID API
MLflow 3.17.1 and earlier contains a path traversal vulnerability in the FileStore tracking backend that allows unauthenticated attackers to control filesystem paths by submitting a crafted trace ID containing traversal sequences to the POST /api/3.0/mlflow/t…
-
Medium 6.3
kiwilan php-archive Extraction ArchiveZip.php extract path traversal
A weakness has been identified in kiwilan php-archive up to 2.3.02. This affects the function ArchiveZip::extract of the file src/Readers/ArchiveZip.php of the component Extraction. This manipulation causes path traversal. The attack is possible to be carried…
-
Medium 4.7
grandnode grandnode2 Excel Import ProductImportDataObject.PrepareProductPictures path traversal
A security vulnerability has been detected in grandnode grandnode2 up to 2.3.0. This impacts the function ProductImportDataObject.PrepareProductPictures of the component Excel Import. The manipulation of the argument Picture1/Picture2/Picture3 leads to path t…
-
Medium 6.2
TickTick Android 8.2.2.0 Path Traversal via ShareReceiveActivity
TickTick Android application (com.ticktick.task) 8.2.2.0 contains a path traversal vulnerability in its exported ShareReceiveActivity that allows a malicious local application to write files outside the intended attachment directory by supplying a crafted con…
-
Medium —
Graphify Fortran extractor: incomplete cpp #include hardening allows arbitrary host-file read/exfiltration when indexing an untrusted repo
## Summary The Fortran extractor's C-preprocessor step (`graphify/extractors/fortran.py`, `_cpp_preprocess`) applies an incomplete `#include` hardening. The `-nostdinc -I /dev/null` flags it relies on (comment "Security (F-007)") do **not** stop a capital-`F`…
-
Low 2.7
IBM MQ Path Traversal
IBM MQ Web Console could allow an authenticated administrator to write files outside the intended directory due to improper path validation.
-
Medium 6.9
FOSSBilling: Unauthenticated attacker can probe existence of arbitrary files via guest/system/template_exists
FOSSBilling is an open source billing and client-management platform. From 0.1.0 until 0.8.7, the unauthenticated api/guest/system/template_exists endpoint permits path traversal because templateExists uses Path::join on the attacker-controlled file parameter…
-
Medium 5.9
Yank Note before 3.93.1 Path Traversal via /api/help Endpoint
Yank Note before 3.93.1 contains a path traversal vulnerability that allows unauthenticated remote attackers to read arbitrary files via the path or doc parameter of /api/help. Attackers can supply repeated '../' segments, which bypass the single-replacement …
-
Medium 5.3
Mopidy before 4.0.5 Path Traversal via File Backend library.lookup
Mopidy before 4.0.5 contains a path traversal vulnerability that allows unauthenticated clients to access local files outside file/media_dirs because FileLibraryProvider.lookup() lacks a containment check. Attackers can call core.library.lookup or core.trackl…
-
Medium 4.7
diem-project diem dmCodeEditor actions.class.php join path traversal
A flaw has been found in diem-project diem up to 5.1.3. The impacted element is the function dmOs::join of the file dmFrontPlugin/modules/dmCodeEditor/actions/actions.class.php of the component dmCodeEditor. Executing a manipulation can lead to path traversal…
-
High 7.4CVE-2026-79986 Public exploit
Apache Camel: camel-azure-files resolved the remote path of a polled file from the name reported in the server directory listing without constraining it to the directory being polled, so a listing entry containing traversal segments could be moved outside
Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in Apache Camel Azure Files component. This issue affects Apache Camel: from 4.0.0 before 4.18.5, from 4.19.0 before 4.22.1. The Camel remote-file consumers poll a di…
-
High 7.4CVE-2026-79985 Public exploit
Apache Camel: camel-smb resolved the remote path of a polled file from the name reported in the server directory listing without constraining it to the directory being polled, so a listing entry containing traversal segments could be moved outside
Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in Apache Camel SMB component. This issue affects Apache Camel: from 4.2.0 before 4.18.5, from 4.19.0 before 4.22.1. The Camel remote-file consumers poll a directory …
-
High 7.4CVE-2026-79984 Public exploit
Apache Camel: camel-mina-sftp resolved the remote path of a polled file from the name reported in the server directory listing without constraining it to the directory being polled, so a listing entry containing traversal segments could be moved outside
Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in Apache Camel Mina SFTP component. This issue affects Apache Camel: from 4.18.0 before 4.18.5, from 4.19.0 before 4.22.1. The Camel remote-file consumers poll a dir…
-
High 7.4CVE-2026-79983 Public exploit
Apache Camel: camel-ftp resolved the remote path of a polled file from the name reported in the server directory listing without constraining it to the directory being polled, so a listing entry containing traversal segments could be moved outside
Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in Apache Camel FTP component. This issue affects Apache Camel: from 4.0.0 before 4.18.5, from 4.19.0 before 4.22.1. The Camel remote-file consumers poll a directory …
-
Medium 5.9CVE-2026-78163 Public exploit
Apache Camel: Camel-Docling Unvalidated Message Body Input Source Enables Server-Side Request Forgery and Local File Disclosure
Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF), Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') and Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor vulnerability in Apache Camel Docling component. This issue affects Apache Camel:…
-
High 7.3
Apache Kylin: delete metadata backup path-confinement bypass
Path-confinement bypass during metadata backup deletion in Apache Kylin. Impact most to the kylin services that are directly exposed to public network, which is not common. In-house kylin deployments are mostly not impacted. This issue affects Apache Kylin: f…