Security Resilience

CVE-2023-4480

Path Traversal in Php-Fusion Phpfusion ≤ 9.10.30

Path TraversalInfo Disclosure
Published
05 September 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
CVSS Score v3.1 5.5
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N
EPSS Score 0.0068 51th percentile
Risk Priority 44 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2023-4480 is a medium-severity Insertion of Sensitive Information into Externally-Accessible File or Directory (CWE-538) vulnerability in Php-Fusion Phpfusion. Its CVSS base score is 5.5 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Data Obfuscation (T1001); ranked in the top 49% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A01:2025 Broken Access Control

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Due to an out-of-date dependency in the “Fusion File Manager” component accessible through the admin panel, an attacker can send a crafted request that allows them to read the contents of files on the system accessible within the privileges of…

more

the running process. Additionally, they may write files to arbitrary locations, provided the files pass the application’s mime-type and file extension validation.

CWE(s)
CWE-538CWE-22

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1001 Data Obfuscation Command And Control
Adversaries may obfuscate command and control traffic to make it more difficult to detect.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.003 NTDS Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access or create a copy of the Active Directory domain database in order to steal credential information, as well as obtain other information about domain members such as devices, users, and access rights.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.004 LSA Secrets Credential Access
Adversaries with SYSTEM access to a host may attempt to access Local Security Authority (LSA) secrets, which can contain a variety of different credential materials, such as credentials for service accounts.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.006 DCSync Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access credentials and other sensitive information by abusing a Windows Domain Controller's application programming interface (API)(Citation: Microsoft DRSR Dec 2017) (Citation: Microsoft GetNCCChanges) (Citati…
attack.mitre.org →
T1006 Direct Volume Access Stealth
Adversaries may directly access a volume to bypass file access controls and file system monitoring.
attack.mitre.org →
T1016.001 Internet Connection Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may check for Internet connectivity on compromised systems.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-11079Shared CWE-22, CWE-538
CVE-2025-25586Shared CWE-538
CVE-2025-8452Shared CWE-538
CVE-2025-24689Shared CWE-538
CVE-2024-22045Shared CWE-538
CVE-2025-22773Shared CWE-538
CVE-2019-25706Shared CWE-538
CVE-2026-49298Shared CWE-538
CVE-2026-23838Shared CWE-538
CVE-2025-22633Shared CWE-538

Affected Assets

php-fusion
phpfusion
≤ 9.10.30

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 2 hardening rules · 2 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V5.3.2
  • V14.1.2
  • V14.2.8

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.

AC-22 Publicly Accessible Content
addresses: CWE-538

Pre- and post-publication reviews prevent insertion of sensitive information into externally-accessible public locations.

AU-13 Monitoring for Information Disclosure
addresses: CWE-538

Monitors for sensitive information placed in externally accessible files or directories.

CM-13 Data Action Mapping
addresses: CWE-538

The map shows if data actions result in sensitive information being placed in externally accessible locations.

IR-9 Information Spillage Response
addresses: CWE-538

Isolation and eradication reduce the ability to exploit sensitive information inserted into externally-accessible files or directories.

RA-2 Security Categorization
addresses: CWE-538

Approved categorization forces identification of externally accessible files that contain sensitive content so they receive proper protection.

RA-8 Privacy Impact Assessments
addresses: CWE-538

The pre-implementation review identifies externally accessible files or directories containing PII and drives access restrictions or removal.

SI-10 Information Input Validation
addresses: CWE-22

Validates pathnames and filenames to prevent traversal outside intended directories.

SI-20 Tainting
addresses: CWE-538

Tainting makes it possible to determine when sensitive data has been removed from externally accessible files or 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.AA-05 partial match
blocks

Least-privilege file and directory permissions directly prevent unauthorized actors from reading sensitive data placed in accessible locations.

PR.DS-01 partial match
blocks

Protecting data-at-rest encompasses file-level access controls and encryption that stop exposure of sensitive information in externally reachable paths.

PR.PS-01 partial match
blocks

Hardened configuration baselines and ongoing config management reduce the chance that sensitive data is written to world-readable files or directories.

PR.PS-02 partial match
blocks

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.

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.

A.5.14 Information transfer partial match
removes
A.5.15 Access control partial match
removes
A.5.16 Identity management partial match
removes
A.5.17 Authentication information partial match
removes
A.5.18 Access rights partial match
removes
A.8.10 Information deletion partial match
removes

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (higher-evidence rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Oracle Linux 8 (1 rule)
  • V-248579 OL 8 must restrict access to the kernel message buffer. blocks CWE-538
RHEL 8 (1 rule)
  • V-230269 RHEL 8 must restrict access to the kernel message buffer. blocks CWE-538

References