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Improper Input ValidationWeakness · CWE-20

CVE-2025-2305

HIGH · 8.6 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-05-16
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
95/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
A Path traversal vulnerability in the file download functionality was identified. This vulnerability allows unauthenticated users to download arbitrary files, in the context of the application server, from the Linux server.

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

A path traversal vulnerability in the file download functionality allows unauthenticated attackers to escape the intended directory and download arbitrary files from the Linux application server. This could expose sensitive system files, configuration data, credentials, or application source code.

MitigationImplement strict input validation using allowlist approaches or canonicalization to ensure file paths resolve within an allowed directory. Alternatively, replace dynamic file access with a fixed set of predefined files or use framework-provided secure file serving methods.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

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
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/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 file download functionality
    Review application endpoints for file download/download/getfile/servefile routes, or search codebase for functions that handle file serving (e.g., FileInputStream, sendFile, readFile, file download handlers)
    Affected if The application exposes any endpoint or function that serves files to users
  2. Verify authentication requirement
    Attempt to access the identified download endpoint without providing credentials, or review code for @Anonymous, permitAll, or missing authentication annotations on file download handlers
    Affected if The file download functionality is accessible without any authentication
  3. Test for path traversal vulnerability
    Send requests to the download endpoint with path traversal sequences such as ../../../../etc/passwd or ../../../etc/shadow in the file parameter, observing whether the server returns files outside the intended directory
    Affected if Requests with ../ sequences return files from outside the intended download directory, indicating the vulnerability is present
  4. Confirm Linux target environment
    Check server operating system by reviewing deployment environment, running 'uname -a' on the host, or identifying Linux-specific paths in any successful path traversal responses
    Affected if The application server runs on Linux, making system files like /etc/passwd, /etc/shadow, or /etc/sudoers potential targets
  5. Inspect input validation logic
    Review the file download handler code for path sanitization: check for removal of ../ sequences, use of realPath/normalize, or allowlist validation. Also verify whether the application uses framework methods that restrict access to a base directory
    Affected if No input validation exists, or validation can be bypassed (e.g., via URL encoding, double encoding, or symbolic links)
  6. Check for exposure of sensitive files
    If path traversal is confirmed, attempt to access known sensitive files such as /etc/passwd, application config files, environment variables (.env), or source code files in web root
    Affected if Sensitive system or configuration files are successfully retrieved via the vulnerable download function

The environment is affected if file download functionality is exposed without authentication and lacks proper path traversal validation, allowing attackers to access arbitrary files on the Linux server.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Implement strict input validation using allowlist approaches or canonicalization to ensure file paths resolve within an allowed directory. Alternatively, replace dynamic file access with a fixed set of predefined files or use framework-provided secure file serving methods.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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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-2025-2305 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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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