Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-6021

Path Traversal in Ray Project Ray

Public PoCPath Traversal
Published
16 November 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
CVSS Score v3.1 7.5
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
EPSS Score 0.37 98th percentile
Risk Priority 80 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-6021 is a high-severity Path Traversal: '\..\filename' (CWE-29) vulnerability in Ray Project Ray. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).

Operationally, ranked in the top 2% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-3 (Access Enforcement) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

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-2023-6021 is a local file inclusion vulnerability in the log API endpoint of Ray, an open-source distributed computing framework. The flaw stems from improper input validation that permits path traversal, allowing unauthenticated remote access to arbitrary files on the underlying server. It is tracked under CWE-22 and CWE-29 and carries a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 reflecting network attack vector, low complexity, and high confidentiality impact without any required credentials.

An attacker with network access to the Ray log endpoint can supply crafted requests to retrieve sensitive files such as configuration data, credentials, or source code. No authentication or user interaction is needed, enabling straightforward information disclosure that could facilitate further compromise of the host or connected systems.

The maintainers state that the issue is resolved in Ray version 2.8.1 and later; their detailed response and guidance are published at the referenced Anyscale advisory. The associated EPSS score stands at 0.8732 with an identical recorded peak, indicating sustained high exploitation probability since disclosure.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

LFI in Ray's log API endpoint allows attackers to read any file on the server without authentication. The issue is fixed in version 2.8.1+. Ray maintainers' response can be found here: https://www.anyscale.com/blog/update-on-ray-cves-cve-2023-6019-cve-2023-6020-cve-2023-6021-cve-2023-48022-cve-2023-48023

CWE(s)

Related Threats

Likely ATT&CK TechniquesAI

Techniques this vulnerability likely enables, inferred from its description, weakness type, and attributed-actor tradecraft. Confidence is per-technique.

T1005 Data from Local System Collectionconfidence: HIGH
Path traversal in the log API directly enables reading arbitrary local files without authentication.
T1552.001 Credentials In Files Credential Accessconfidence: MEDIUM
Retrieved files may contain credentials stored on disk, facilitating credential access.
inferred from description + CWE · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-1177Shared CWE-22, CWE-29
CVE-2024-21542Shared CWE-22, CWE-29
CVE-2023-0104Shared CWE-22, CWE-29
CVE-2026-10732Shared CWE-22, CWE-29
CVE-2024-51534Shared CWE-22, CWE-29
CVE-2024-21518Shared CWE-22, CWE-29
CVE-2026-30828Shared CWE-22, CWE-29
CVE-2023-37218Shared CWE-22
CVE-2026-41655Shared CWE-22
CVE-2025-7712Shared CWE-22

Affected Assets

ray project
ray
all versions

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)
  • SI-10 Information Input Validation
  • AC-3 Access Enforcement
  • SI-2 Flaw Remediation
Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

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

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

prevent

Directly blocks the path-traversal payload in the log API by validating and sanitizing file-path inputs before processing.

prevent

Enforces authentication and authorization on the log endpoint so unauthenticated requests cannot read arbitrary server files.

prevent

Requires prompt application of the Ray 2.8.1+ patch that eliminates the LFI flaw in the log API.

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.

detects

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