Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:NCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2025-27553 is a high-severity Relative Path Traversal (CWE-23) vulnerability in Apache Commons Vfs. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).
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.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SI-10 (Information Input Validation) and AC-3 (Access Enforcement) — 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-2025-27553 is a relative path traversal vulnerability in the FileObject API of Apache Commons VFS versions prior to 2.10.0. The 'resolveFile' method accepts a 'scope' parameter, where specifying NameScope.DESCENDENT is intended to throw an exception if the resolved file is not a descendant of the base file. However, when the path includes encoded ".." characters, such as "%2E%2E/bar.txt", the method can return file objects outside the base file's descendant hierarchy without raising an exception, enabling unauthorized file access.
Remote attackers require no privileges or user interaction to exploit this vulnerability over the network with low complexity, as indicated by its CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N). By supplying a malicious path to the resolveFile method with the DESCENDENT scope, an unauthenticated adversary can traverse directory boundaries and access sensitive files outside the intended scope, resulting in high-impact confidentiality violations without affecting integrity or availability.
Apache recommends upgrading to Commons VFS version 2.10.0, which addresses the issue. Official advisories, including those from the Apache mailing lists, OSS-Security, and Debian LTS announcements, confirm the fix and urge affected users to update promptly.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2025-7319
Vulnerability Data
Relative Path Traversal vulnerability in Apache Commons VFS before 2.10.0. The FileObject API in Commons VFS has a 'resolveFile' method that takes a 'scope' parameter. Specifying 'NameScope.DESCENDENT' promises that "an exception is thrown if the resolved file is not a…
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descendent of the base file". However, when the path contains encoded ".." characters (for example, "%2E%2E/bar.txt"), it might return file objects that are not a descendent of the base file, without throwing an exception. This issue affects Apache Commons VFS: before 2.10.0. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 2.10.0, which fixes the issue.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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V5.3.2
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Explicit validation of path inputs stops .. sequences from ever being interpreted by the file system.
Access enforcement directly blocks unauthorized file reads/writes that result from unresolved .. sequences.
Information-flow rules can be configured to reject traversals that would move data outside an approved directory boundary.
Least privilege reduces the set of reachable files even when a traversal succeeds.
Secure-engineering principles require safe pathname construction and input neutralization before any file operation.
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.
Secure SDLC practices directly require input validation and path sanitization that prevent relative traversal.
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, but does not itself implement the fix.
Secure development lifecycle mandates input validation and path-handling controls that directly prevent relative path traversal.
Application security requirements explicitly call for controls against path traversal and other injection flaws.
Secure architecture principles include directory isolation and canonicalization, reducing but not eliminating traversal risk.
Secure coding standards require neutralizing path traversal sequences, directly addressing CWE-23.
Information access restriction limits which files can be reached, mitigating impact but not preventing the traversal flaw.