CWE-22 8984 CVEs MITRE definition ↗

CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')

Overview

CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')) documents a weakness type used across vulnerability databases and security assessments. Use the sections below for definition, context, and mapped CVEs.

Security impact
Security impact: Depends on product and context; use CVE records, severity scores, and MITRE guidance to prioritize.

Description

The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory.

Applicable platforms

Kind Name Class Prevalence OS / CPE
language Not Language-Specific Undetermined
technology AI/ML Often

Related CVEs in this database

These CVEs are mapped to this weakness in this database and kept for traceability and search.

CVE Published Summary
CVE-2026-41412 2026-06-02 alf.io is an open source ticket reservation system for conferences, trade shows, workshops, and meetups. Prior to version 2.0-M5-2606, the alf.io extension sandbox injects a fully-functional HTTP clie…
CVE-2026-49144 2026-06-02 BrowserStack Runner through 0.9.5 contains a path traversal vulnerability in the _default HTTP handler in lib/server.js that allows unauthenticated network-adjacent attackers to read arbitrary files. …
CVE-2026-43965 2026-06-02 Path traversal vulnerability in Gleam's dependency management allows arbitrary directory deletion via malicious build/packages/packages.toml content. Package keys read from build/packages/packages.to…
CVE-2026-32685 2026-06-02 Path traversal vulnerability in Gleam's handling of custom documentation pages allows arbitrary file read and file write outside the intended documentation output directory. The documentation.pages e…
CVE-2026-0055 2026-06-01 In createSessionInternal of PackageInstallerService.java, there is a possible to update a Device Policy Controller (DPC) into an invalid directory due to a path traversal error. This could lead to loc…
CVE-2026-49136 2026-06-01 Banana Slides through 0.4.0, patched in commit e8bc490, contains a path traversal vulnerability in the generate_image() function within the AI service backend that allows unauthenticated attackers to …
CVE-2026-45727 2026-06-01 CloakBrowser is a tool to bypass bot detection tests. Prior to version 0.3.28, the cloakserve CDP multiplexer uses the user-supplied fingerprint query parameter directly as a filesystem path component…
CVE-2026-45279 2026-06-01 Nextcloud is an open source content collaboration platform. In Nextcloud Server from versions 31.0.0 to before 31.0.14, and 32.0.0 to before 32.0.4, if {lang} is used in the template directory config …
CVE-2026-43624 2026-06-01 F5-TTS through version 1.1.20 contains a path traversal vulnerability in the finetune Gradio handlers that allows unauthenticated attackers to write arbitrary files by passing unsanitized user-supplie…
CVE-2026-10278 2026-06-01 A vulnerability was determined in ishayoyo excel-mcp up to 1.0.2. Impacted is an unknown function of the file src/index.ts of the component read_file/write_file. Executing a manipulation of the argume…
CVE-2026-8643 2026-06-01 pip would treat console_scripts and gui_scripts as paths instead of file names without sanitizing the resolved absolute path to the installation directory, leading to entry points being installed outs…
CVE-2026-42679 2026-06-01 Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in Mamunur Rashid Classified Listing allows Path Traversal. This issue affects Classified Listing: from n/…
CVE-2026-48866 2026-06-01 Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in Rocketgenius Inc. Gravity Forms allows Path Traversal. This issue affects Gravity Forms: from n/a throu…
CVE-2026-10264 2026-06-01 A vulnerability was determined in lharries whatsapp-mcp 0.0.1. Affected by this vulnerability is the function SendMessageRequest of the file whatsapp-bridge/main.go of the component Send API Endpoint.…
CVE-2024-40646 2026-06-01 Vertex is a management tool for PT (Private Tracker) users to manage streaming and watching videos. Versions prior to commit fbde301b97986d5913fc4bc95f5445750d282e11 are vulnerable to path traversal. …
CVE-2026-48827 2026-06-01 Path traversal vulnerability in Apache MINA SSHD bundle sshd-git. Lack of path validation in git-upload-pack, git-receive-pack, and other git operations allows users authenticated over SSH access to g…
CVE-2026-40547 2026-06-01 SOPlanning is vulnerable to Path Traversal in backup endpoints. Authenticated remote attacker is able to exploit a vulnerable endpoint and construct payloads that allow reading and executing files pr…
CVE-2026-10213 2026-06-01 A security flaw has been discovered in AstrBotDevs AstrBot 4.23.6. This vulnerability affects unknown code of the file /api/skills/delete of the component API Endpoint. Performing a manipulation of th…
CVE-2018-25421 2026-05-30 Open STA Manager 2.3 contains a path traversal vulnerability that allows authenticated users to download arbitrary files by manipulating the file parameter. Attackers can send GET requests to modules/…
CVE-2018-25408 2026-05-30 The Open ISES Project 3.30A contains a path traversal vulnerability in the ajax/download.php endpoint that allows unauthenticated attackers to download arbitrary files by manipulating the filename par…

Previous names

  • Path Traversal (2010-02-16)

Content submission

Name
PLOVER
Date
2006-07-19
Version
Draft 3

Content modifications

Date Name Version Importance Comment
2008-07-01 Eric Dalci 1.0 updated Potential_Mitigations, Time_of_Introduction
2008-08-15 1.0 Suggested OWASP Top Ten 2004 mapping
2008-09-08 CWE Content Team 1.0 updated Alternate_Terms, Relationships, Other_Notes, Relationship_Notes, Relevant_Properties, Taxonomy_Mappings, Weakness_Ordinalities
2008-10-14 CWE Content Team 1.0.1 updated Description
2008-11-24 CWE Content Team 1.1 updated Relationships, Taxonomy_Mappings
2009-07-27 CWE Content Team 1.5 updated Potential_Mitigations
2010-02-16 CWE Content Team 1.8 updated Alternate_Terms, Applicable_Platforms, Common_Consequences, Demonstrative_Examples, Description, Detection_Factors, Likelihood_of_Exploit, Name, Observed_Examples, Other_Notes, Potential_Mitigations, References, Related_Attack_Patterns, Relationship_Notes, Relationships, Research_Gaps, Taxonomy_Mappings, Terminology_Notes, Time_of_Introduction, Weakness_Ordinalities
2010-06-21 CWE Content Team 1.9 updated Common_Consequences, Demonstrative_Examples, Description, Detection_Factors, Potential_Mitigations, References, Relationships
2010-09-27 CWE Content Team 1.10 updated Potential_Mitigations
2010-12-13 CWE Content Team 1.11 updated Potential_Mitigations
2011-03-29 CWE Content Team 1.12 updated Potential_Mitigations
2011-06-27 CWE Content Team 2.0 updated Relationships
2011-09-13 CWE Content Team 2.1 updated Potential_Mitigations, References, Relationships, Taxonomy_Mappings
2012-05-11 CWE Content Team 2.2 updated Demonstrative_Examples, References, Relationships
2012-10-30 CWE Content Team 2.3 updated Potential_Mitigations
2013-02-21 CWE Content Team 2.4 updated Observed_Examples
2013-07-17 CWE Content Team 2.5 updated Related_Attack_Patterns, Relationships
2014-06-23 CWE Content Team 2.7 updated Other_Notes, Research_Gaps
2014-07-30 CWE Content Team 2.8 updated Detection_Factors, Relationships, Taxonomy_Mappings
2015-12-07 CWE Content Team 2.9 updated Relationships
2017-01-19 CWE Content Team 2.10 updated Related_Attack_Patterns
2017-05-03 CWE Content Team 2.11 updated Demonstrative_Examples
2017-11-08 CWE Content Team 3.0 updated Affected_Resources, Causal_Nature, Likelihood_of_Exploit, References, Relationships, Relevant_Properties, Taxonomy_Mappings
2018-03-27 CWE Content Team 3.1 updated References, Relationships
2019-01-03 CWE Content Team 3.2 updated References, Related_Attack_Patterns, Relationships, Taxonomy_Mappings
2019-06-20 CWE Content Team 3.3 updated Related_Attack_Patterns, Relationships, Type
2019-09-19 CWE Content Team 3.4 updated Relationships
2020-02-24 CWE Content Team 4.0 updated Potential_Mitigations, Relationships
2020-06-25 CWE Content Team 4.1 updated Demonstrative_Examples, Potential_Mitigations
2020-08-20 CWE Content Team 4.2 updated Relationships
2020-12-10 CWE Content Team 4.3 updated Potential_Mitigations, Relationships
2021-03-15 CWE Content Team 4.4 updated Demonstrative_Examples, Relationships
2021-07-20 CWE Content Team 4.5 updated Relationships
2021-10-28 CWE Content Team 4.6 updated Observed_Examples, Relationships
2022-06-28 CWE Content Team 4.8 updated Observed_Examples, Relationships
2022-10-13 CWE Content Team 4.9 updated Observed_Examples, References
2023-01-31 CWE Content Team 4.10 updated Common_Consequences, Description, Detection_Factors
2023-04-27 CWE Content Team 4.11 updated Demonstrative_Examples, References, Relationships, Time_of_Introduction
2023-06-29 CWE Content Team 4.12 updated Mapping_Notes, Relationships
2023-10-26 CWE Content Team 4.13 updated Observed_Examples
2024-07-16 CWE Content Team 4.15 updated Common_Consequences, Description, Diagram, Observed_Examples, Other_Notes, References
2024-11-19 CWE Content Team 4.16 updated Demonstrative_Examples, Relationships
2025-04-03 CWE Content Team 4.17 updated Relationships
2025-09-09 CWE Content Team 4.18 updated Applicable_Platforms, Detection_Factors, Observed_Examples, Potential_Mitigations, References
2025-12-11 CWE Content Team 4.19 updated Mapping_Notes, Relationships
2026-04-30 CWE Content Team 4.20 updated Alternate_Terms, Applicable_Platforms, Demonstrative_Examples, Relationships

Contributions

Type Name Date Comment
Feedback Nick Johnston 2022-07-11 Identified weakness in Perl demonstrative example
Content Abhi Balakrishnan 2024-02-29 Provided diagram to improve CWE usability
Feedback Drew Buttner 2024-11-01 Identified weakness in "good code" for Python demonstrative example
Content Affan Ahmed 2025-02-08 Provided a demonstrative example in PHP
cvelogic Threat Intelligence