Nuclei Path Traversal vulnerability
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Information disclosure
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · None · None
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and GitHub. Impact type from CWE-22 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
Nuclei is a vulnerability scanner. Prior to version 2.9.9, a security issue in the Nuclei project affected users utilizing Nuclei as Go code (SDK) running custom templates. This issue did not affect CLI users. The problem was related to sanitization issues with payload loading in sandbox mode. There was a potential risk with payloads loading in sandbox mode. The issue occurred due to relative paths not being converted to absolute paths before doing the check for `sandbox` flag allowing arbitrary files to be read on the filesystem in certain cases when using Nuclei from `Go` SDK implementation. This issue has been fixed in version 2.9.9. The maintainers have also enabled sandbox by default for filesystem loading. This can be optionally disabled if required. The `-sandbox` option has been deprecated and is now divided into two new options: `-lfa` (allow local file access) which is enabled by default and `-lna` (restrict local network access) which can be enabled by users optionally. The `-lfa` allows file (payload) access anywhere on the system (disabling sandbox effectively), and `-lna` blocks connections to the local/private network.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- Yes
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| projectdiscovery | nuclei | before 2.9.9 | 2.9.9 | Patch available | CNA |
| — | github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei/v2 (Go) | before 2.9.9 | 2.9.9 | Patch available | GHSA-2xx4-jj5v-6mff |
| — | github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei (Go) | before 2.9.9 | 2.9.9 | Patch available | GHSA-2xx4-jj5v-6mff |
- nuclei Vendorprojectdiscovery Affected before 2.9.9 Fixed in 2.9.9 Patch available CNA
- github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei/v2 (Go) Vendor— Affected before 2.9.9 Fixed in 2.9.9 Patch available GHSA-2xx4-jj5v-6mff
- github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei (Go) Vendor— Affected before 2.9.9 Fixed in 2.9.9 Patch available GHSA-2xx4-jj5v-6mff
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:projectdiscovery:nuclei:*:*:*:*:*:go:*:* | before 2.9.9 | Vulnerable | projectdiscovery |
- cpe:2.3:a:projectdiscovery:nuclei:*:*:*:*:*:go:*:* Versions before 2.9.9 Vulnerable ·projectdiscovery
Remediation
- Fix · CNA nuclei (projectdiscovery) Fixed in 2.9.9
- Fix · GHSA-2xx4-jj5v-6mff github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei/v2 (Go) Fixed in 2.9.9 Advisory →
- Fix · GHSA-2xx4-jj5v-6mff github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei (Go) Fixed in 2.9.9 Advisory →
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2023-37896
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-2xx4-jj5v-6mff
References
Advisory 2
More projectdiscovery Nuclei vulnerabilities
- TI-2024-29054 Nuclei Template Signature Verification Bypass CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.8
- TI-2026-29888 Code injection in projectdiscovery Nuclei CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2026-30165 Nuclei: Local File Read via require() Module Loader Bypass CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 5.5
- TI-2024-18525 Unsigned code template execution through workflows in projectdiscovery/nuclei CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.4
- TI-2026-30164 Nuclei: Environment variable disclosure via Response-Derived DSL Expressions CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 5.3
Sources
- CVE-2023-37896 · CVE Program
- CVE-2023-37896 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-2xx4-jj5v-6mff · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
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