Path TraversalWeakness · CWE-22

CVE-2025-31554

MEDIUM · 5.9 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-04-03
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
68/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in docxpresso Docxpresso docxpresso allows Absolute Path Traversal.This issue affects Docxpresso: from n/a through <= 2.6.

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

Absolute Path Traversal vulnerability in docxpresso Docxpresso allows attackers to access files outside restricted directories by manipulating file path inputs with absolute paths. This could enable unauthorized read access to sensitive filesystem locations.

MitigationImplement strict path validation to ensure user-supplied file paths resolve within intended directories. Use basename() normalization and reject any path containing '..' or absolute path prefixes.

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/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 docxpresso installation and version
    Search for docxpresso files in common web application directories (e.g., /var/www/, /home/*/public_html/, C:\inetpub\wwwroot\). Look for composer.json, package.json, or version files within the docxpresso directory structure.
    Affected if docxpresso is installed and the installed version is lower than the fixed version (if known) or any version if version info is unavailable.
  2. Locate file handling endpoints or functions
    Search the docxpresso codebase for file read/download functions. Look for patterns like file_get_contents, fopen, readfile, or similar PHP file functions that accept user input. Check API routes or controller files for file-related operations.
    Affected if File handling code exists that accepts user-supplied input as file paths without sufficient validation.
  3. Inspect input validation on file path parameters
    Examine the code handling file path inputs. Look for how the application processes file path parameters - whether it validates, sanitizes, or normalizes paths before use.
    Affected if File path parameters accept absolute paths (e.g., starting with / or C:\) without rejection or proper path containment validation.
  4. Check for path traversal safeguards
    Search for path validation logic in file handling code. Look for checks using basename(), realpath(), or explicit rejection of '..' sequences or absolute path prefixes.
    Affected if No path validation exists, or validation can be bypassed (e.g., basename() alone does not prevent absolute path traversal).
  5. Test if absolute paths bypass restrictions
    If you have access to test the functionality, observe whether supplying an absolute path (e.g., /etc/passwd or C:\Windows\win.ini) as a file parameter returns the file contents or triggers an error.
    Affected if Supplying an absolute path to a file parameter successfully reads files outside the intended directory.

The environment is affected if docxpresso is installed and exposes file read functionality that accepts absolute path input without proper path containment validation.

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 path validation to ensure user-supplied file paths resolve within intended directories. Use basename() normalization and reject any path containing '..' or absolute path prefixes.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,640
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2025-31554 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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