CVE-2022-23602 | Nim's rst parser sandboxed mode allows include which can embed any local file

Exp

Nimforum is a lightweight alternative to Discourse written in Nim. In versions prior to 2.2.0 any forum user can create a new thread/post with an include referencing a file local to the host operating system. Nimforum will render the file if able. This can also be done silently by using NimForum's post "preview" endpoint. Even if NimForum is running as a non-critical user, the forum.json secrets can be stolen. Version 2.2.0 of NimForum includes patches for this vulnerability. Users are advised to upgrade as soon as is possible. There are no known workarounds for this issue.

Published: 2022-02-01 Last update: 2025-05-05 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2022-23602 is rated High Exploit Risk (64.9/100): CVSS High severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.37%). Core evidence: 1 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). Mandatory action: 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-2022-23602

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

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2022-23602

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 0.71% 0.37% -0.34%
2 2025-03-29 0.37% 0.71% +0.34%
3 2025-03-17 0.37%

Full EPSS history (6 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2022-23602

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.7 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/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: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:C)
Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius.
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.
3.1 4.0 [email protected]
8.1 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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: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:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
2.8 5.2 [email protected]
5.5 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:P/A:N 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:S)
A single authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P)
Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:N)
No availability impact.
8.0 4.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2022-23602

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2022-23602

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
nim-lang docutils < 1.6.2 cpe:2.3:a:nim-lang:docutils:*:*:*:*:*:nim:*:*
nim-lang nimforum < 2.2.0 cpe:2.3:a:nim-lang:nimforum:*:*:*:*:*:nim:*:*

References for CVE-2022-23602

cvelogic Threat Intelligence