CVE-2022-31557
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedThe seveas/golem repository through 2016-05-17 on GitHub allows absolute path traversal because the Flask send_file function is used unsafely.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceThe seveas/golem Flask application uses the send_file function in an unsafe manner, allowing attackers to perform absolute path traversal by supplying arbitrary file paths (e.g., /etc/passwd). This critical vulnerability enables unauthenticated attackers to read sensitive system files from the server.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data<= 2016-05-17CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:L
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify if Golem project is installedCheck for the presence of the golem Flask application in your environment by looking for golem-related packages, directories, or source code.Affected if The golem application from seveas/golem is present in your environment
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Determine installed versionCheck the installed version of the golem package or source code against the affected version (2016-05-17 or earlier). Look for version tags, requirements files, or package metadata.Affected if The installed version is from 2016-05-17 or earlier, or if you cannot determine a version but have older golem code
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Locate send_file usage in source codeSearch the golem application source code for occurrences of the send_file function call. Examine how user input flows to this function.Affected if The application code contains send_file calls that accept path parameters without proper validation
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Check for path traversal vulnerabilityInspect the send_file implementation to verify whether it uses safe_join() or performs path validation. Look for direct passing of user-supplied paths to send_file.Affected if The send_file function receives path parameters directly from user input without sanitization or uses unsafe path handling
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Verify web exposureDetermine if the golem web interface is accessible over a network. Check if the vulnerable endpoint is reachable by unauthenticated users.Affected if The Flask application is running and exposed such that external requests can reach the vulnerable send_file endpoint
Your environment is affected if you have the Golem project installed with a version from 2016-05-17 or earlier, and the application uses send_file to serve files without proper path validation, making it possible for attackers to read arbitrary system files via path traversal.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataReplace unsafe send_file usage with Flask's safe_join() function or implement strict path validation to ensure requested files remain within intended directories. Sanitize all user-supplied path inputs before passing them to send_file.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-31557 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-31557 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data