Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:LSummary
CVE-2023-32315 is a high-severity Path Traversal (CWE-22) vulnerability in Igniterealtime Openfire. Its CVSS base score is 8.6 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 0.0% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities 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.
Openfire, an open-source XMPP server, contains a path traversal vulnerability in its web-based administrative console that stems from improper handling of the setup environment. The flaw, tracked as CWE-22, affects every release from version 3.10.0 onward and permits an unauthenticated remote attacker to reach administrative pages that should be restricted after initial configuration.
An attacker can leverage the still-accessible setup flow on an already-configured instance to bypass authentication checks, view or modify sensitive console resources, and ultimately obtain administrative control of the server. The CVSS 3.1 score of 8.6 reflects the combination of network accessibility, lack of required credentials, and the resulting confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
The GitHub Security Advisory GHSA-gw42-f939-fhvm and vendor releases 4.7.5 and 4.6.8 contain patches that close the traversal vector, with additional hardening planned for the forthcoming 4.8.0 branch. Administrators unable to upgrade immediately are directed to the advisory for temporary configuration work-arounds.
The vulnerability appears in CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, and its EPSS score has remained consistently high, peaking at 0.9741, indicating sustained exploitation interest following disclosure. Public exploit code referencing both authentication bypass and remote code execution has also been published.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2023-1548
Vulnerability Data
Openfire is an XMPP server licensed under the Open Source Apache License. Openfire's administrative console, a web-based application, was found to be vulnerable to a path traversal attack via the setup environment. This permitted an unauthenticated user to use the…
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unauthenticated Openfire Setup Environment in an already configured Openfire environment to access restricted pages in the Openfire Admin Console reserved for administrative users. This vulnerability affects all versions of Openfire that have been released since April 2015, starting with version 3.10.0. The problem has been patched in Openfire release 4.7.5 and 4.6.8, and further improvements will be included in the yet-to-be released first version on the 4.8 branch (which is expected to be version 4.8.0). Users are advised to upgrade. If an Openfire upgrade isn’t available for a specific release, or isn’t quickly actionable, users may see the linked github advisory (GHSA-gw42-f939-fhvm) for mitigation advice.
- CWE(s)
- KEV Date Added
- 24 August 2023
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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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.
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.
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 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.
Security testing in development catches path traversal via static/dynamic analysis.
Secure SDLC mandates input validation and path sanitization that directly prevent path traversal.
Application security requirements include rules for safe file handling and canonicalization.
Secure architecture principles require least-privilege file access and directory isolation.
Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe path construction and mandate safe APIs.
Information access restriction limits which files an application may read or write.