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FusionauthApplication

CVE-2022-45921

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-11-28
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.41.3 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
FusionAuth before 1.41.3 allows a file outside of the application root to be viewed or retrieved using an HTTP request. To be specific, an attacker may be able to view or retrieve any file readable by the user running the FusionAuth process.

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 confidence

FusionAuth before 1.41.3 contains a path traversal vulnerability in its file serving mechanism. Attackers can craft HTTP requests with directory traversal sequences (e.g., ../../) to access files outside the intended application root directory. Since the file retrieval runs with the privileges of the FusionAuth process user, any file readable by that user can be exposed, including system files, configuration files, and credentials.

MitigationPrimary remediation is upgrading FusionAuth to version 1.41.3 or later, which contains the fix for this path traversal vulnerability. As a compensating control, restrict network access to FusionAuth servers and ensure the process runs with minimal necessary file system permissions.

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
FusionauthApplication
Affected:>= 1.37.0, < 1.41.3

CVSS 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
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed FusionAuth version
    Log into the FusionAuth admin dashboard and navigate to System > About, or check the version file typically located at /opt/fusionauth/version.txt (or the installation directory's version.txt). Compare this version against the affected range: >= 1.37.0 and < 1.41.3.
    Affected if The installed version falls within 1.37.0 through 1.41.2 inclusive.
  2. Verify the file serving endpoint is accessible
    Determine if the FusionAuth server is exposed to network access. Check if HTTP/HTTPS ports (typically 9011, 8080, or 443) are listening on interfaces accessible to untrusted networks. Review firewall rules and reverse proxy configurations.
    Affected if The FusionAuth HTTP interface is reachable from untrusted networks and the version is within the affected range.
  3. Confirm file serving feature is enabled
    FusionAuth's file serving is typically used for theme assets and file uploads. Check the FusionAuth configuration file (fusionauth.properties or fusionauth-config.toml) for file serving related settings, or review the installed plugins and theme configurations.
    Affected if File serving functionality is active and the version is within the affected range.
  4. Review FusionAuth process file permissions
    Check the user account running the FusionAuth process (typically found in process listings or service configs) and review which files that user can read. Use commands like 'ps aux | grep fusionauth' to identify the process owner, then review file permissions with 'ls -la' on sensitive directories like /etc, /opt, or application config directories.
    Affected if The FusionAuth process runs with permissions to read sensitive system or configuration files, and the version is within the affected range.

A system is affected if it runs FusionAuth version 1.37.0 through 1.41.2, has its HTTP interface network-accessible, and the FusionAuth process user has read access to sensitive files that could be exposed via directory traversal.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 1.41.3 or later
Fixed in 1.41.3
Interim mitigation

Primary remediation is upgrading FusionAuth to version 1.41.3 or later, which contains the fix for this path traversal vulnerability. As a compensating control, restrict network access to FusionAuth servers and ensure the process runs with minimal necessary file system permissions.

Recommended fix High confidence

1.41.3 or later

  1. 1. Back up your FusionAuth database and configuration files before upgrading
  2. 2. Download FusionAuth version 1.41.3 or later from the official FusionAuth release page
  3. 3. Stop the FusionAuth service
  4. 4. Follow the official FusionAuth upgrade instructions for your deployment method
  5. 5. Start the FusionAuth service after upgrade completes
  6. 6. Verify the application is functioning correctly and test that the path traversal vulnerability is mitigated

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Fusionauth Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,440
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,904.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-45921 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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