CVE-2021-43800 | Asset directory traversal with some storage modules on Windows

Wiki.js is a wiki app built on Node.js. Prior to version 2.5.254, directory traversal outside of Wiki.js context is possible when a storage module with local asset cache fetching is enabled on a Windows host. A malicious user can potentially read any file on the file system by crafting a special URL that allows for directory traversal. This is only possible on a Wiki.js server running on Windows, when a storage module implementing local asset cache (e.g Local File System or Git) is enabled and that no web application firewall solution (e.g. cloudflare) strips potentially malicious URLs. Commit number 414033de9dff66a327e3f3243234852f468a9d85 fixes this vulnerability by sanitizing the path before it is passed on to the storage module. The sanitization step removes any windows directory traversal sequences from the path. As a workaround, disable any storage module with local asset caching capabilities (Local File System, Git).

Published: 2021-12-06 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2021-43800 is rated Moderate Risk (50.5/100): CVSS High severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.43%). Mandatory action: Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2021-43800

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2025-03-30 0.83% 0.43% -0.40%
2 2025-03-29 0.43% 0.83% +0.40%
3 2025-03-17 0.43%

Full EPSS history (10 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2021-43800

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.5 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
3.9 3.6 [email protected]
7.5 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
3.9 3.6 [email protected]
4.3 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:M)
Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:N)
No integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:N)
No availability impact.
8.6 2.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2021-43800

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-43800

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
requarks wiki.js < 2.5.245 cpe:2.3:a:requarks:wiki.js:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2021-43800

cvelogic Threat Intelligence