VulnerabilityPublished 6 Jun 2024Updated 15 Oct 2025

CVE-2024-5550: h2oai/h2o-3 · Path Traversal

Affects h2oai/h2o-3Source CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.3 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 14:05 UTC

CVSS 3.0 base score

5.3Medium

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

EPSS: 0.8% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 57% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: Low
Integrity: None
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: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
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: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the impacted component.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within 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 6 Jun 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

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
GitHubh2oai/h2o-3`pkg:github/h2oai/h2o-3`Other threats	Affected =3.40.0.4	Fixed in–

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

AI-suggested

Restrict access to the Typeahead API endpoint by implementing network-level controls such as IP whitelisting or VPN-only access to limit exposure to trusted users.
Apply strict input validation and sanitization on the Typeahead API parameters to prevent traversal sequences like '../' or absolute path lookups such as '/'.
Employ web application firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block suspicious path traversal attempts targeting the Typeahead API.
Monitor API logs for unusual requests, especially those querying root or system directories, and establish alerting mechanisms for potential reconnaissance activity.
If possible, upgrade to a patched version of h2oai/h2o-3 once available or apply vendor-provided mitigations.
Conduct internal audits to identify any Local File Inclusion or related vulnerabilities that could be chained with this information disclosure to escalate impact.
Isolate AI platform servers from critical infrastructure and sensitive data stores to limit lateral movement in case of compromise.
Educate development and operations teams about secure API design principles to prevent similar issues in future releases.

Description

In h2oai/h2o-3 version 3.40.0.4, an exposure of sensitive information vulnerability exists due to an arbitrary system path lookup feature. This vulnerability allows any remote user to view full paths in the entire file system where h2o-3 is hosted. Specifically, the issue resides in the Typeahead API call, which when requested with a typeahead lookup of '/', exposes the root filesystem including directories such as /home, /usr, /bin, among others. This vulnerability could allow attackers to explore the entire filesystem, and when combined with a Local File Inclusion (LFI) vulnerability, could make exploitation of the server trivial.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2024-5550 is the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive filesystem information, which compromises confidentiality. For European organizations, this can lead to increased risk of targeted attacks, as attackers gain detailed knowledge of server directory structures, potentially exposing sensitive files or configurations indirectly. While the vulnerability does not directly affect integrity or availability, the information leakage can be a stepping stone for more severe exploits, especially if combined with other vulnerabilities like LFI. Organizations in sectors relying heavily on AI and data science platforms, such as finance, healthcare, and research institutions, may face increased risk due to the sensitive nature of their data and the criticality of their AI workloads. The exposure could also aid attackers in evading detection by understanding system layouts and tailoring attacks accordingly. Given the remote and unauthenticated nature of the exploit, the threat surface is broad, potentially affecting any deployment of the vulnerable h2oai/h2o-3 version. The medium CVSS score reflects moderate risk but should not be underestimated in environments with sensitive data or regulatory compliance requirements such as GDPR.

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

huntr.com/bounties/e76372c2-39be-4984-a7c8-7048a75a25dc (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 15 Oct 2025, 13:31 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-22

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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