dbcve.org
DrupalCMS

CVE-2023-31250

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-04-26
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.96 / 9.4.14 or later.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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
The file download facility doesn't sufficiently sanitize file paths in certain situations. This may result in users gaining access to private files that they should not have access to. Some sites may require configuration changes following this security release. Review the release notes for your Drupal version if you have issues accessing private files after updating.

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 confidence

Drupal's file download mechanism insufficiently sanitizes file paths, allowing authenticated users to potentially access private files outside their permitted directories through path traversal techniques. This is an information disclosure vulnerability affecting the private file system in certain Drupal configurations.

MitigationUpdate Drupal to the latest version and review release notes for required configuration changes to ensure proper private file access controls are enforced.

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
DrupalCMS
Affected:>= 7.0, < 7.96>= 9.4, < 9.4.14>= 9.5, < 9.5.8>= 10.0, < 10.0.8

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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. Determine installed Drupal version
    Check the VERSION constant in Drupal's bootstrap.inc (Drupal 7) or core/lib/Drupal.php (Drupal 9/10) file, or run `drush status` and look for the Drupal version line
    Affected if The installed version falls within any of these ranges: 7.0 to 7.95, 9.4.0 to 9.4.13, 9.5.0 to 9.5.7, or 10.0.0 to 10.0.7
  2. Confirm private file system is configured
    Examine settings.php for the $settings['file_private_path'] configuration option or check if the private file system path is set in the Drupal admin interface under Administration > Configuration > Media > File system
    Affected if A private file system path is configured and enabled in the Drupal installation
  3. Verify file download delivery method
    Check the 'File download method' setting in Drupal at Administration > Configuration > Media > File system, or inspect the $config['system.file'] configuration for 'default_scheme' and 'allow_insecure_uploads' settings
    Affected if The system is configured to use private file delivery (not public) for file downloads
  4. Identify if authenticated users can access file downloads
    Review user role permissions at Administration > People > Permissions, specifically the 'Access private files' or 'View private files' permission grants for any authenticated role
    Affected if Authenticated users (any role other than anonymous) have permissions to access or download files from the private file system

A Drupal site is affected if it runs a version within the affected ranges AND has the private file system enabled with authenticated user access to private files, allowing potential path traversal during file downloads.

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 7.96 / 9.4.14 / 9.5.8 or later
Fixed in 7.969.4.149.5.8
Interim mitigation

Update Drupal to the latest version and review release notes for required configuration changes to ensure proper private file access controls are enforced.

Recommended fix High confidence

Drupal 7.96, 9.4.14, 9.5.8, or 10.0.8 depending on your current branch

  1. Back up your Drupal database and files before updating
  2. Update Drupal core to the fixed version for your branch (7.96, 9.4.14, 9.5.8, or 10.0.8)
  3. Clear all Drupal caches after applying the update
  4. Review the release notes for your Drupal version if you have issues accessing private files after updating
  5. Verify that private file access controls are working correctly by testing file downloads
Caveat Review version-specific release notes as some sites may require configuration changes for private file access

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

Fix this in Drupal Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-31250 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2023-31250 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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