CWE-25β€”Path Traversal: '/../filedir'

PUBLISHEDweakness record
released 2006-07-19 Β· last modified 2025-12-11

Metadata

CWE ID:
CWE-25
Abstraction:
Variant
Structure:
Simple
Status:
Incomplete
Release Date:
2006-07-19
Latest Modification Date:
2025-12-11

Weakness Name

Path Traversal: '/../filedir'

Description

The product uses external input to construct a pathname that should be within a restricted directory, but it does not properly neutralize "/../" sequences that can resolve to a location that is outside of that directory.

This allows attackers to traverse the file system to access files or directories that are outside of the restricted directory. Sometimes a program checks for "../" at the beginning of the input, so a "/../" can bypass that check.

Common Consequences

Scope:
Confidentiality, Integrity
Impact:
Read Files or Directories, Modify Files or Directories

Related Weaknesses