Weakness (CWE)
CWE-73: External Control of File Name or Path
The product allows user input to control or influence paths or file names that are used in filesystem operations.
How to prevent it (8 mitigations)
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Architecture and Design
When the set of filenames is limited or known, create a mapping from a set of fixed input values (such as numeric IDs) to the actual filenames, 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 provide this capability.
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Architecture and Design, Operation
Run your code in a "jail" or similar sandbox environment that enforces strict boundaries between the process and the operating system. This may effectively restrict all access to files within a particular directory.
Examples include the Unix chroot jail and AppArmor. In general, managed code may provide some protection.
This may not be a feasible solution, and it only limits the impact to the operating system; the rest of your application may still be subject to compromise.
Be careful to avoid CWE-243 and other weaknesses related to jails.
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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
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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Implementation
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).
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Installation, Operation
Use OS-level permissions and run as a low-privileged user to limit the scope of any successful attack.
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Operation, Implementation
If you are using PHP, configure your application so that it does not use register_globals. During implementation, develop your application so that it does not rely on this feature, but be wary of implementing a register_globals emulation that is subject to weaknesses such as CWE-95, CWE-621, and similar issues.
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Testing
Use tools and techniques that require manual (human) analysis, such as penetration testing, threat modeling, and interactive tools that allow the tester to record and modify an active session. These may be more effective than strictly automated techniques. This is especially the case with weaknesses that are related to design and business rules.
Source: MITRE CWE-73
16 results · Clear filters · Feed
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Critical 9.9CVE-2026-57155 Public exploit
OPNsense: Root RCE via Arbitrary File Write in GeoIP Alias Importer
OPNsense is a FreeBSD based firewall and routing platform. Prior to version 26.1.11, the Firewall Alias GeoIP importer's process_zip() and process_gzip() paths in src/opnsense/scripts/filter/lib/alias/geoip.py use an unvalidated CSV country_code value to cons…
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Critical 9.3CVE-2026-85520 Public exploit
Unauthenticated arbitrary file write leading to RCE in gmfeed PrestaShop module
Google Merchant Center Feed (gmfeed) module for PrestaShop is vulnerable to unauthenticated arbitrary file write in the feed.php endpoint. An unauthenticated attacker can send a crafted request that controls the output file name, path, extension, and content …
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Critical 9.8CVE-2026-90817 Public exploit
An unauthenticated Remote Code Execution vulnerability was found in the survey passthrough routing and Data Import proc…
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Critical 9.8CVE-2026-88899 Public exploit
knowns before 0.31.0 External Control of Agent Working Directory via x-opencode-directory Header
knowns versions before 0.31.0 fail to properly validate the x-opencode-directory request header in the /api/opencode proxy endpoint. Remote attackers can supply arbitrary directory paths to execute file operations outside the project root on the host system.
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Critical 9.8CVE-2026-56705 Public exploit
Adminer before 5.4.3 Remote Code Execution via MSSQL PDO DSN Injection
Adminer before 5.4.3 fails to sanitize the server field before constructing a PDO DSN string, allowing unauthenticated attackers to inject ODBC parameters via semicolons. Attackers can inject TraceFile and TraceOn parameters to write PHP code to the web root,…
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Critical 9.8CVE-2026-52680 Public exploit
Apache Kyuubi: REST batch multipart upload path traversal allows controlled file write
Apache Kyuubi REST batch multipart upload handling uses the client-supplied multipart filename when creating a temporary uploaded resource. A remote attacker who can access the REST batch upload endpoint can provide path traversal sequences in the filename an…
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Critical 10.0CVE-2025-71338 Public exploit
Flowise through 2.2.7 - Arbitrary File Write to Remote Code Execution via document-store API
Flowise through 2.2.7 fails to sanitize path segments in the document-store loader endpoint, allowing unauthenticated attackers to write files outside the storage directory. Attackers can use parent-directory sequences to escape the storage directory and over…
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Critical 9.1
MCP Atlassian has an arbitrary file write leading to arbitrary code execution via unconstrained download_path in confluence_download_attachment
MCP Atlassian is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for Atlassian products (Confluence and Jira). Prior to version 0.17.0, the `confluence_download_attachment` MCP tool accepts a `download_path` parameter that is written to without any directory boundary e…
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Critical 9.2CVE-2025-68428 Public exploit
jsPDF has Local File Inclusion/Path Traversal vulnerability
jsPDF is a library to generate PDFs in JavaScript. Prior to version 4.0.0, user control of the first argument of the loadFile method in the node.js build allows local file inclusion/path traversal. If given the possibility to pass unsanitized paths to the loa…
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Critical 9.3CVE-2025-55746 Public exploit
Directus allows unauthenticated file upload and file modification due to lacking input sanitization
Directus is a real-time API and App dashboard for managing SQL database content. From 10.8.0 to before 11.9.3, a vulnerability exists in the file update mechanism which allows an unauthenticated actor to modify existing files with arbitrary contents (without …
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Critical 9.1CVE-2025-4603 Public exploit
eMagicOne Store Manager for WooCommerce <= 1.2.5 - Unauthenticated Arbitrary File Deletion
The eMagicOne Store Manager for WooCommerce plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary file deletion due to insufficient file path validation in the delete_file() function in all versions up to, and including, 1.2.5. This makes it possible for unauthenti…
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Critical 9.1CVE-2024-11042 Public exploit
Arbitrary File Delete in invoke-ai/invokeai
In invoke-ai/invokeai version v5.0.2, the web API `POST /api/v1/images/delete` is vulnerable to Arbitrary File Deletion. This vulnerability allows unauthorized attackers to delete arbitrary files on the server, potentially including critical or sensitive syst…
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Critical 9.8
Path traversal issue in Deep Java Library
A path traversal issue in ZipUtils.unzip and TarUtils.untar in Deep Java Library (DJL) on all platforms allows a bad actor to write files to arbitrary locations.
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Critical 9.8
SPIP Bigup Multipart File Upload OS Command Injection
SPIP before 4.3.2, 4.2.16, and 4.1.18 is vulnerable to a command injection issue. A remote and unauthenticated attacker can execute arbitrary operating system commands by sending a crafted multipart file upload HTTP request.
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Critical 9.8
Media Library Assistant <= 3.09 - Unauthenticated Local/Remote File Inclusion & Remote Code Execution
The Media Library Assistant plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Local File Inclusion and Remote Code Execution in versions up to, and including, 3.09. This is due to insufficient controls on file paths being supplied to the 'mla_stream_file' parameter from …
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Critical 9.8
A external control of file name or path in Fortinet FortiNAC versions 9.4.0, 9.2.0 through 9.2.5, 9.1.0 through 9.1.7, …