Cyber Resilience

CVE-2025-29789

Path Traversal in Open-Emr Openemr ≤ 7.0.3

Public PoCPath Traversal
Published
25 March 2025
Modified
06 May 2025
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v4 4.6
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:A/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
EPSS Score 0.0083 54th percentile
Risk Priority 35 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2025-29789 is a medium-severity Relative Path Traversal (CWE-23) vulnerability in Open-Emr Openemr. Its CVSS base score is 4.6 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 46% 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-2025-29789 is a directory traversal vulnerability (CWE-22, CWE-23) in the Load Code feature of OpenEMR, a free and open source electronic health records and medical practice management application. Versions prior to 7.3.0 are affected, as disclosed on 2025-03-25 with a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N).

Unauthenticated attackers with network access can exploit this vulnerability through low-complexity attacks requiring no user interaction. Successful exploitation enables high-impact confidentiality violations, such as unauthorized access to sensitive files on the server, without affecting integrity or availability.

OpenEMR version 7.3.0 addresses the issue with a patch. Security practitioners should consult the GitHub security advisory at https://github.com/openemr/openemr/security/advisories/GHSA-ffpq-2wqj-v8ff and the fixing commit at https://github.com/openemr/openemr/commit/ef3bb7f84ebe8ef54d55416e587ec2fefd065489 for implementation details and upgrade guidance.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

OpenEMR is a free and open source electronic health records and medical practice management application. Versions prior to 7.3.0 are vulnerable to Directory Traversal in the Load Code feature. Version 7.3.0 contains a patch for the issue.

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.
T1005 Data from Local System Collection
Adversaries may search local system sources, such as file systems, configuration files, local databases, virtual machine files, or process memory, to find files of interest and sensitive data prior to Exfiltration.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-25928Same product: Open-Emr Openemr
CVE-2026-24848Same product: Open-Emr Openemr
CVE-2023-22973Same product: Open-Emr Openemr
CVE-2026-24849Same product: Open-Emr Openemr
CVE-2026-24488Same product: Open-Emr Openemr
CVE-2019-14530Same product: Open-Emr Openemr
CVE-2024-8510Shared CWE-22, CWE-23
CVE-2023-1044Shared CWE-22, CWE-23
CVE-2026-25121Shared CWE-22, CWE-23
CVE-2024-22398Shared CWE-22, CWE-23

Affected Assets

open-emr
openemr
≤ 7.0.3

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

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Enforces the intended directory access authorizations that path traversal would otherwise bypass.

Explicit validation of path inputs stops .. sequences from ever being interpreted by the file system.

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.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly require input validation and path sanitization that prevent relative traversal.

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, but does not itself implement the fix.

prevents

Secure development lifecycle mandates input validation and path-handling controls that directly prevent relative path traversal.

prevents

Application security requirements explicitly call for controls against path traversal and other injection flaws.

prevents

Secure architecture principles include directory isolation and canonicalization, reducing but not eliminating traversal risk.

prevents

Secure coding standards require neutralizing path traversal sequences, directly addressing CWE-23.

mitigates

Information access restriction limits which files can be reached, mitigating impact but not preventing the traversal flaw.

References