Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-1177

Path Traversal in Lfprojects Mlflow ≤ 2.2.1

Public PoCHigh EPSSPath Traversal
Published
24 March 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 9.3
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N
EPSS Score 0.70 99.3th percentile
Risk Priority 92 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-1177 is a critical-severity Path Traversal: '\..\filename' (CWE-29) vulnerability in Lfprojects Mlflow. Its CVSS base score is 9.3 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 0.7% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

CVE-2023-1177 is a path traversal vulnerability, identified as CWE-22 and CWE-29, that affects the MLflow machine learning platform in the GitHub repository mlflow/mlflow prior to version 2.2.1. The flaw permits directory traversal sequences such as '\..\filename' and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 9.3 reflecting network attack vector, low complexity, and no required privileges or user interaction.

An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit the issue to read arbitrary files on the server, resulting in high confidentiality impact and limited integrity impact within the affected MLflow deployment. The vulnerability is exposed through the application's handling of file paths, enabling direct access to sensitive data outside intended directories.

References to the fixing commit 7162a50c654792c21f3e4a160eb1a0e6a34f6e6e and the associated huntr.dev report confirm that the issue was resolved by the MLflow 2.2.1 release; practitioners should upgrade immediately and validate that path-handling logic no longer accepts traversal sequences.

The EPSS score remains elevated at a current value of 0.9331 with a peak of 0.9333, indicating sustained exploitation interest after disclosure for this MLflow component.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Path Traversal: '\..\filename' in GitHub repository mlflow/mlflow prior to 2.2.1.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
T1005 Data from Local System Collection
Adversaries may search local system sources, such as file systems, configuration files, local databases, virtual machine files, or process memory, to find files of interest and sensitive data prior to Exfiltration.
T1083 File and Directory Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may enumerate files and directories or may search in specific locations of a host or network share for certain information within a file system.
T1552 Unsecured Credentials Credential Access
Adversaries may search compromised systems to find and obtain insecurely stored credentials.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-6831Same product: Lfprojects Mlflow
CVE-2024-3573Same product: Lfprojects Mlflow
CVE-2024-2928Same product: Lfprojects Mlflow
CVE-2024-3848Same product: Lfprojects Mlflow
CVE-2025-15036Same product: Lfprojects Mlflow
CVE-2024-1593Same product: Lfprojects Mlflow
CVE-2023-30172Same product: Lfprojects Mlflow
CVE-2023-6015Same product: Lfprojects Mlflow
CVE-2024-1594Same product: Lfprojects Mlflow
CVE-2024-1483Same product: Lfprojects Mlflow

Affected Assets

lfprojects
mlflow
≤ 2.2.1

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V5.3.2

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

addresses: CWE-22

Validates pathnames and filenames to prevent traversal outside intended directories.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly require input validation and path sanitization that block this traversal vector.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching/maintenance can remediate known path-traversal flaws in deployed software (partial prevention of exploitability) but does nothing to stop the coding defect from being introduced in the first place.

PR.AA-05 none match
prevents

PR.AA-05 defines and reviews access policies but does not address code-level pathname neutralization, so neither direction prevents CWE-22.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

finds

Security testing can discover path-traversal flaws but does not itself prevent them in production code.

prevents

Secure SDLC mandates input validation and path sanitization that directly prevent path traversal.

prevents

Application security requirements can mandate input validation and path canonicalization to block traversal sequences.

prevents

Secure architecture principles include directory sandboxing and safe file-access design that mitigate path traversal.

prevents

Secure coding standards directly require neutralizing path traversal sequences such as '\..\filename'.

mitigates

Information access restriction limits which files an application may read or write.

References