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)
-
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.
-
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.
-
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
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.
-
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).
-
Installation, Operation
Use OS-level permissions and run as a low-privileged user to limit the scope of any successful attack.
-
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.
-
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
825 results · Feed
-
High 7.5
Penpot has Arbitrary File Read via create-font-variant RPC endpoint
Penpot is an open-source design tool for design and code collaboration. Prior to version 2.13.2, an authenticated user can read arbitrary files from the server by supplying a local file path (e.g. `/etc/passwd`) as a font data chunk in the `create-font-varian…
-
High 8.1
Dell Unisphere for PowerMax, version(s) 10.2, contain(s) an External Control of File Name or Path vulnerability. A low …
-
High 8.8
Dell Unisphere for PowerMax, version(s) 10.2, contain(s) an External Control of File Name or Path vulnerability. A low …
-
Medium 6.5
Dell Unisphere for PowerMax, version(s) 10.2, contain(s) an External Control of File Name or Path vulnerability. A low …
-
High 8.2
OpenStack Nova calls qemu-img without format restrictions for resize
An issue was discovered in OpenStack Nova before 30.2.2, 31 before 31.2.1, and 32 before 32.1.1. By writing a malicious QCOW header to a root or ephemeral disk and then triggering a resize, a user may convince Nova's Flat image backend to call qemu-img withou…
-
Medium 4.9CVE-2026-25964 Public exploit
Tandoor Recipes Affected by Authenticated Local File Disclosure (LFD) via Recipe Import leads to Arbitrary File Read
Tandoor Recipes is an application for managing recipes, planning meals, and building shopping lists. Prior to 2.5.1, a Path Traversal vulnerability in the RecipeImport workflow of Tandoor Recipes allows authenticated users with import permissions to read arbi…
-
High 7.7
In Infoblox NIOS through 9.0.7, a High-Privileged User Can Trigger an Arbitrary File Write via the Account Creation Mec…
-
High 7.1
Arbitrary File Read in Keras via HDF5 External Datasets
Arbitrary file read in the model loading mechanism (HDF5 integration) in Keras versions 3.0.0 through 3.13.1 on all supported platforms allows a remote attacker to read local files and disclose sensitive information via a crafted .keras model file utilizing H…
-
High 7.0CVE-2026-26157 Public exploit
Busybox: busybox: arbitrary file overwrite and potential code execution via incomplete path sanitization
A flaw was found in BusyBox. Incomplete path sanitization in its archive extraction utilities allows an attacker to craft malicious archives that when extracted, and under specific conditions, may write to files outside the intended directory. This can lead t…
-
High 7.0
Busybox: busybox: arbitrary file modification and privilege escalation via unvalidated tar archive entries
A flaw was found in BusyBox. This vulnerability allows an attacker to modify files outside of the intended extraction directory by crafting a malicious tar archive containing unvalidated hardlink or symlink entries. If the tar archive is extracted with elevat…
-
Medium 4.8
File Station 5
A path traversal vulnerability has been reported to affect File Station 5. If a remote attacker gains an administrator account, they can then exploit the vulnerability to read the contents of unexpected files or system data. We have already fixed the vulnerab…
-
Low 3.3CVE-2026-21249 EPSS 11%
Windows NTLM Spoofing Vulnerability
External control of file name or path in Windows NTLM allows an unauthorized attacker to perform spoofing locally.
-
High 8.6
Qdrant affected by arbitrary file write via `/logger` endpoint
Qdrant is a vector similarity search engine and vector database. From 1.9.3 to before 1.16.0, it is possible to append to arbitrary files via /logger endpoint using an attacker-controlled on_disk.log_file path. Minimal privileges are required (read-only acces…
-
High 8.2
calibre has a Path Traversal Leading to Arbitrary File Corruption and Code Execution
calibre is an e-book manager. In 9.1.0 and earlier, a path traversal vulnerability in Calibre's EPUB conversion allows a malicious EPUB file to corrupt arbitrary existing files writable by the Calibre process. During conversion, Calibre resolves CipherReferen…
-
Critical 9.8
Unstructured has Path Traversal via Malicious MSG Attachment that Allows Arbitrary File Write
The unstructured library provides open-source components for ingesting and pre-processing images and text documents, such as PDFs, HTML, Word docs, and many more. Prior to version 0.18.18, a path traversal vulnerability in the partition_msg function allows an…
-
Critical 9.8
webTareas 2.0.p8 - Arbitrary File Deletion
webTareas 2.0.p8 contains a file deletion vulnerability in the print_layout.php administration component that allows authenticated attackers to delete arbitrary files. Attackers can exploit the vulnerability by manipulating the 'atttmp1' parameter to specify …
-
High 8.8
i-doit Open Source CMDB 1.14.1 - Arbitrary File Deletion
i-doit Open Source CMDB 1.14.1 contains a file deletion vulnerability in the import module that allows authenticated attackers to delete arbitrary files by manipulating the delete_import parameter. Attackers can send a POST request to the import module with a…
-
Critical 9.1
Remote Arbitrary File Write with Arbitrary Data in h2oai/h2o-3
A vulnerability in h2oai/h2o-3 version 3.46.0.1 allows remote attackers to write arbitrary data to any file on the server. This is achieved by exploiting the `/3/Parse` endpoint to inject attacker-controlled data as the header of an empty file, which is then …
-
Medium 5.7
LobeHub Vulnerable to Improper Authorization in Presigned Upload
LobeHub is an open source human-and-AI-agent network. Prior to version 1.143.3, the file upload feature in `Knowledge Base > File Upload` does not validate the integrity of the upload request, allowing users to intercept and modify the request parameters. As …
-
High 8.8
Hestia Control Panel 1.3.2 - Arbitrary File Write
Hestia Control Panel 1.3.2 contains an arbitrary file write vulnerability that allows authenticated attackers to write files to arbitrary locations using the API index.php endpoint. Attackers can exploit the v-make-tmp-file command to write SSH keys or other …
-
High 7.5
NodeBB Plugin Emoji 3.2.1 - Arbitrary File Write
NodeBB Plugin Emoji 3.2.1 contains an arbitrary file write vulnerability that allows administrative users to write files to arbitrary system locations through the emoji upload API. Attackers with admin access can craft file upload requests with directory trav…
-
Critical 9.6
An arbitrary file read vulnerability exists in the encapsulatedDoc functionality of MedDream PACS Premium 7.3.6.870. A …
-
High 7.7
Arbitrary File Read in Google BigQuery Sink connector
Kafka Connect BigQuery Connector is an implementation of a sink connector from Apache Kafka to Google BigQuery. Prior to 2.11.0, there is an arbitrary file read in Google BigQuery Sink connector. Aiven's Google BigQuery Kafka Connect Sink connector requires G…
-
High 8.1
DPanel has an arbitrary file deletion vulnerability in /api/common/attach/delete interface
DPanel is an open source server management panel written in Go. Prior to 1.9.2, DPanel has an arbitrary file deletion vulnerability in the /api/common/attach/delete interface. Authenticated users can delete arbitrary files on the server via path traversal. Wh…
-
High 8.0
Windows Telephony Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
External control of file name or path in Windows Telephony Service allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges over an adjacent network.
-
Medium 6.5CVE-2026-20872 EPSS 20%
NTLM Hash Disclosure Spoofing Vulnerability
External control of file name or path in Windows NTLM allows an unauthorized attacker to perform spoofing over a network.
-
Medium 6.5CVE-2026-20925 EPSS 18%
NTLM Hash Disclosure Spoofing Vulnerability
External control of file name or path in Windows NTLM allows an unauthorized attacker to perform spoofing over a network.
-
Critical 9.6
Iris Allows Arbitrary File Deletion via Mass Assignment in Datastore File Management
Iris is a web collaborative platform that helps incident responders share technical details during investigations. Prior to 2.4.24, the DFIR-IRIS datastore file management system has a vulnerability where mass assignment of the file_local_name field combined …
-
High 7.3
Local users can perform a local root exploit via smb4k mounthelper
An External Control of File Name or Path vulnerability in smb4k allowsl ocal users to perform a local root exploit via smb4k mounthelper if they can access and control the contents of a Samba shareThis issue affects smb4k: from ? before 4.0.5.
-
Medium 6.5
EmailKit <= 1.6.1 - Authenticated (Author+) Arbitrary File Read via Path Traversal
The EmailKit plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Arbitrary File Read via Path Traversal in all versions up to, and including, 1.6.1. This is due to missing path validation in the create_template REST API endpoint where user-controlled input from the emailki…
-
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…
-
High 7.0
HBS 3 Hybrid Backup Sync
An external control of file name or path vulnerability has been reported to affect HBS 3 Hybrid Backup Sync. If an attacker gains local network access, they can then exploit the vulnerability to read or modify files or directories. We have already fixed the v…
-
Low 2.7
Migration, Backup, Staging – WPvivid Backup & Migration <= 0.9.120 - Authenticated (Admin+) Arbitrary Directory Creation
The Migration, Backup, Staging – WPvivid Backup & Migration plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary directory creation in all versions up to, and including, 0.9.120. This is due to the check_filesystem_permissions() function not properly restricting t…
-
High 7.1
Langflow Vulnerable to External Control of File Name or Path
Langflow is a tool for building and deploying AI-powered agents and workflows. Prior to version 1.7.0, if an arbitrary path is specified in the request body's `fs_path`, the server serializes the Flow object into JSON and creates/overwrites a file at that pat…
-
High 7.5
@vitejs/plugin-rsc has Arbitrary File Read via `/__vite_rsc_findSourceMapURL` Endpoint on Development
@vitejs/plugin-rs provides React Server Components (RSC) support for Vite. Prior to version 0.5.8, the `/__vite_rsc_findSourceMapURL` endpoint in `@vitejs/plugin-rsc` allows unauthenticated arbitrary file read during development mode. An attacker can read any…
-
High 8.8
ConvertX has Path Traversal that leads to Arbitrary File Write and Arbitrary Code Execution
ConvertXis a self-hosted online file converter. In versions prior to 0.16.0, the endpoint `/upload` allows an authenticated user to write arbitrary files on the system, overwriting binaries and allowing code execution. The upload function takes `file.name` di…
-
Medium 6.8
WP User Manager <= 2.9.12 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Arbitrary File Deletion via 'current_user_avatar' Parameter
The WP User Manager plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Arbitrary File Deletion in all versions up to, and including, 2.9.12. This is due to insufficient validation of user-supplied file paths in the profile update functionality combined with improper handl…
-
Critical 9.1
An arbitrary file rename vulnerability in the /admin/filer.php component of EasyImages 2.0 v2.8.6 and below allows atta…
-
Medium 5.0
Zoom Rooms for macOS - External Control of File Name or Path
External control of file name or path in Zoom Rooms for macOS before version 6.6.0 may allow an authenticated user to conduct a disclosure of information via local access.
-
High 7.8
Windows Storage VSP Driver Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
Missing authentication for critical function in Windows Storage VSP Driver allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.