CVE-2022-38196
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 · uneditedEsri ArcGIS Server versions 10.9.1 and prior have a path traversal vulnerability that may result in a denial of service by allowing a remote, authenticated attacker to overwrite internal ArcGIS Server directory.
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 · high confidenceEsri ArcGIS Server versions 10.9.1 and prior contain a path traversal vulnerability that allows a remote, authenticated attacker to traverse directory structures and overwrite files within internal ArcGIS Server directories, resulting in denial of service.
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<= 10.9.1CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
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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Determine the installed ArcGIS Server versionUse the ArcGIS Server Administrator Directory or check the version through the ArcGIS Server Manager interface. The version is typically displayed on the Server, Site, or About page in the Administrator Directory (e.g., https://server:6080/arcgis/admin). Alternatively, check the 'about' endpoint in the REST services directory.Affected if The installed version is 10.9.1 or any earlier version (10.9, 10.8.1, 10.8, etc.)
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Confirm ArcGIS Server is network-accessibleVerify that the ArcGIS Server services (REST API at port 6080 or web adapter port) are reachable from network locations or that the server has been exposed beyond its intended security zone.Affected if The server is accessible to remote users or untrusted networks, as the vulnerability requires a remote authenticated attacker to exploit the path traversal.
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Verify if authentication is enabled and accessibleCheck the ArcGIS Server security configuration through the Administrator Directory to confirm that token-based or other authentication mechanisms are enabled and accessible to non-administrative users.Affected if Standard user or publisher accounts can authenticate to the server, as the exploit requires an authenticated session to send the malicious path traversal request.
You are affected if your ArcGIS Server version is 10.9.1 or earlier AND the server is accessible to remote authenticated users who could exploit the path traversal to overwrite files and cause denial of service.
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 dataApply the vendor patch from Esri for this vulnerability and verify that input validation properly restricts path traversal sequences in server requests.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,840.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-38196 — 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-2022-38196 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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- 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
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