Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-6209

Path Traversal in Debian Linux 10.0 … 12.0

Published
21 November 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 6.5
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
EPSS Score 0.014 70th percentile
Risk Priority 53 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-6209 is a medium-severity Path Traversal (CWE-22) vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux. Its CVSS base score is 6.5 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 30% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Relative URLs starting with three slashes were incorrectly parsed, and a path-traversal "/../" part in the path could be used to override the specified host. This could contribute to security problems in web sites. This vulnerability affects Firefox < 120,…

more

Firefox ESR < 115.5.0, and Thunderbird < 115.5.

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.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-28163Same product: Mozilla Firefox
CVE-2025-2817Same product: Mozilla Firefox
CVE-2025-2830Same product: Mozilla Thunderbird
CVE-2024-12425Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2023-52623Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2018-12895Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2025-47273Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2024-53566Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2024-47742Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2021-25282Same product: Debian Debian Linux

Affected Assets

mozilla
firefox
≤ 120.0
mozilla
firefox esr
≤ 115.5.0
mozilla
thunderbird
≤ 115.5
debian
debian linux
10.0, 11.0, 12.0

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-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 in development catches path traversal via static/dynamic analysis.

prevents

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

prevents

Application security requirements include rules for safe file handling and canonicalization.

prevents

Secure architecture principles require least-privilege file access and directory isolation.

prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe path construction and mandate safe APIs.

mitigates

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

References