CVE-2022-23457 | Path Traversal in ESAPI

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ESAPI (The OWASP Enterprise Security API) is a free, open source, web application security control library. Prior to version 2.3.0.0, the default implementation of `Validator.getValidDirectoryPath(String, String, File, boolean)` may incorrectly treat the tested input string as a child of the specified parent directory. This potentially could allow control-flow bypass checks to be defeated if an attack can specify the entire string representing the 'input' path. This vulnerability is patched in release 2.3.0.0 of ESAPI. As a workaround, it is possible to write one's own implementation of the Validator interface. However, maintainers do not recommend this.

Published: 2022-04-25 Last update: 2025-11-03 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2022-23457 is rated High Exploit Risk (68.8/100): CVSS High severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.55%). 1 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). Public exploits are available—assess exposure, apply mitigations, and prioritize patching.

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

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2022-23457

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
— nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2022-23457

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 2026-06-10 0.64% 0.55% -0.09%
2 2026-05-01 0.25% 0.64% +0.38%
3 2026-04-20 — 0.25% —

Full EPSS history (20 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2022-23457

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:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H 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:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
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:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 1.6 5.9 [email protected]
9.8 3.1 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H 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:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 3.9 5.9 [email protected]
7.5 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P)
Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
 10.0 6.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2022-23457

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2022-23457

GHSA-8m5h-hrqm-pxm2 · Severity: high · Ecosystem: maven — Path traversal in the OWASP Enterprise Security API

OS Trackers for CVE-2022-23457

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2022-23457 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (libowasp-esapi-java), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2022-23457
ubuntu low CVE-2022-23457 low priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (libowasp-esapi-java), 13 status rows across 13 suites (bionic, focal, impish, jammy, kinetic, lunar, mantic, noble, oracular, plucky, questing, upstream, xenial): not-affected 7, released 5, ignored 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2022-23457

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2022-23457

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
owasp enterprise_security_api < 2.3.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:owasp:enterprise_security_api:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle weblogic_server 12.2.1.3.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:weblogic_server:12.2.1.3.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle weblogic_server 12.2.1.4.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:weblogic_server:12.2.1.4.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle weblogic_server 14.1.1.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:weblogic_server:14.1.1.0.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
netapp active_iq_unified_manager — cpe:2.3:a:netapp:active_iq_unified_manager:-:*:*:*:*:linux:*:*
netapp active_iq_unified_manager — cpe:2.3:a:netapp:active_iq_unified_manager:-:*:*:*:*:vmware_vsphere:*:*
netapp active_iq_unified_manager — cpe:2.3:a:netapp:active_iq_unified_manager:-:*:*:*:*:windows:*:*
netapp oncommand_workflow_automation — cpe:2.3:a:netapp:oncommand_workflow_automation:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2022-23457

cvelogic Threat Intelligence