VulnerabilityPublished 15 Jan 2024Updated 3 Nov 2025

CVE-2023-46749: Apache Shiro · Path Traversal

Affects Apache ShiroSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.5 Medium : upgrade to 1.13.0 when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 14:05 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

6.5Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 1.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 67% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 1.13.0

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: High
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 15 Jan 2024
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade org.apache.shiro/shiro-core to 1.13.0.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Mavenorg.apache.shiro/shiro-core`pkg:maven/org.apache.shiro/shiro-core`Other threats	Affected <1.13.0 =2.0.0-alpha-4	Fixed in 1.13.0

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

Upgrade Apache Shiro to version 1.13.0 or later, or 2.0.0-alpha-4 or later, as these versions contain fixes that properly limit pathname inputs and prevent path traversal.
Verify that the 'blockSemicolon' configuration is enabled in Apache Shiro settings; this blocks semicolon characters in paths that facilitate traversal attacks and is enabled by default in patched versions.
Conduct a thorough audit of web application path rewriting rules and ensure they do not inadvertently allow manipulation of request paths.
Implement strict input validation and sanitization on all user-supplied URL parameters to prevent injection of malicious path segments.
Monitor authentication logs for unusual access patterns or repeated failed attempts that could indicate exploitation attempts.
Employ web application firewalls (WAFs) with rules designed to detect and block path traversal payloads targeting Apache Shiro.
Educate development and security teams about the risks of path traversal and the importance of secure configuration management.
Integrate vulnerability scanning tools that specifically check for outdated Apache Shiro versions and path traversal vulnerabilities in CI/CD pipelines to prevent regression.

Description

Apache Shiro before 1.13.0 or 2.0.0-alpha-4, may be susceptible to a path traversal attack that results in an authentication bypass when used together with path rewriting Mitigation: Update to Apache Shiro 1.13.0+ or 2.0.0-alpha-4+, or ensure `blockSemicolon` is enabled (this is the default).

Impact

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a significant risk to the integrity of authentication systems in web applications using vulnerable Apache Shiro versions. Successful exploitation allows attackers to bypass authentication controls, potentially leading to unauthorized access to sensitive internal systems, user accounts, or administrative functions. This can result in data manipulation, privilege escalation, and lateral movement within networks. Although confidentiality and availability are not directly impacted, the integrity breach can undermine trust in affected systems and lead to regulatory compliance issues under GDPR if unauthorized access results in data misuse. Sectors with critical infrastructure, finance, healthcare, and government services are particularly vulnerable due to their reliance on secure authentication. The medium severity rating suggests a moderate but actionable threat, emphasizing the need for timely patching to prevent exploitation. The absence of known exploits in the wild reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the potential for future attacks, especially as threat actors often target widely used frameworks like Apache Shiro.

CWE-22Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #6OWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory.
Implementation · Input Validation
Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does.
Architecture and Design
For any security checks that are performed on the client side, ensure that these checks are duplicated on the server side, in order to avoid CWE-602. Attackers can bypass the client-side checks by modifying values after the checks have been performed, or by changing the client to remove the client-side checks…
Implementation · Input Validation
Inputs should be decoded and canonicalized to the application's current internal representation before being validated (CWE-180). Make sure that the application does not decode the same input twice (CWE-174).
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V12.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Path Traversal (opens in a new tab)
Using Slashes and URL Encoding Combined to Bypass Validation Logic (opens in a new tab)
Manipulating Web Input to File System Calls (opens in a new tab)
Using Escaped Slashes in Alternate Encoding (opens in a new tab)
Using Slashes in Alternate Encoding (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 4 Nov 2025, 00:44 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-22

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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