CWE-33β€”Path Traversal: '....' (Multiple Dot)

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

Metadata

CWE ID:
CWE-33
Abstraction:
Variant
Structure:
Simple
Status:
Incomplete
Release Date:
2006-07-19
Latest Modification Date:
2025-12-11

Weakness Name

Path Traversal: '....' (Multiple Dot)

Description

The product uses external input to construct a pathname that should be within a restricted directory, but it does not properly neutralize '....' (multiple dot) 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. The '....' manipulation is useful for bypassing some path traversal protection schemes. On some Windows systems, it is equivalent to "..\..\.." and might bypass checks that assume only two dots are valid. Incomplete filtering, such as removal of "./" sequences, can ultimately produce valid ".." sequences due to a collapse into unsafe value (CWE-182).

Common Consequences

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

Related Weaknesses