CVE-2026-52844: CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') in caddyserver caddy
Caddy is an extensible server platform that uses TLS by default. Prior to 2.11.4, on Windows, Caddy path matchers treat /private\secret.txt as outside /private/*, but file_server later resolves the same request path as private\secret.txt on disk. An unauthenticated remote client can bypass Caddy path-scoped auth/deny routes protecting /private/*. This vulnerability is fixed in 2.11.4.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
CVE-2026-52844 is a path traversal vulnerability affecting Caddy server versions prior to 2.11.4 on Windows platforms. The vulnerability occurs because Caddy's path matching logic incorrectly treats certain Windows-style paths with backslashes as outside protected directories, while the file_server component resolves these paths on disk, enabling unauthorized access. This allows unauthenticated remote clients to bypass path-scoped authentication or denial routes protecting directories such as /private/*. The issue is resolved in version 2.11.4 of Caddy.
Potential Impact
An unauthenticated remote attacker can bypass path-scoped authentication or denial controls on Windows systems running vulnerable versions of Caddy, potentially gaining unauthorized read access to files within protected directories. The vulnerability does not affect integrity or availability but has a high confidentiality impact.
Mitigation Recommendations
This vulnerability is fixed in Caddy version 2.11.4. Users should upgrade to version 2.11.4 or later to remediate this issue. No other mitigation or temporary workaround is indicated in the available data.
CVE-2026-52844: CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') in caddyserver caddy
Description
Caddy is an extensible server platform that uses TLS by default. Prior to 2.11.4, on Windows, Caddy path matchers treat /private\secret.txt as outside /private/*, but file_server later resolves the same request path as private\secret.txt on disk. An unauthenticated remote client can bypass Caddy path-scoped auth/deny routes protecting /private/*. This vulnerability is fixed in 2.11.4.
CVSS v3.1
Score 7.5high
Affected software
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AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
CVE-2026-52844 is a path traversal vulnerability affecting Caddy server versions prior to 2.11.4 on Windows platforms. The vulnerability occurs because Caddy's path matching logic incorrectly treats certain Windows-style paths with backslashes as outside protected directories, while the file_server component resolves these paths on disk, enabling unauthorized access. This allows unauthenticated remote clients to bypass path-scoped authentication or denial routes protecting directories such as /private/*. The issue is resolved in version 2.11.4 of Caddy.
Potential Impact
An unauthenticated remote attacker can bypass path-scoped authentication or denial controls on Windows systems running vulnerable versions of Caddy, potentially gaining unauthorized read access to files within protected directories. The vulnerability does not affect integrity or availability but has a high confidentiality impact.
Mitigation Recommendations
This vulnerability is fixed in Caddy version 2.11.4. Users should upgrade to version 2.11.4 or later to remediate this issue. No other mitigation or temporary workaround is indicated in the available data.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- GitHub_M
- Date Reserved
- 2026-06-08T18:41:27.724Z
- Cvss Version
- 3.1
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Remediation Level
- null
Threat ID: 6a3acbe4eed863c81e6c9a51
Added to database: 06/23/2026, 18:09:40 UTC
Last enriched: 06/23/2026, 18:24:29 UTC
Last updated: 06/23/2026, 20:39:24 UTC
Views: 2
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