CVE-2021-29425

Public Exploit
Possible limited path traversal vulnerabily in Apache Commons IO

Description

In Apache Commons IO before 2.7, When invoking the method FileNameUtils.normalize with an improper input string, like "//../foo", or "\\..\foo", the result would be the same value, thus possibly providing access to files in the parent directory, but not further above (thus "limited" path traversal), if the calling code would use the result to construct a path value.

Remediation

Workaround:

  • Neither the method in question (FileNameUtils.normalize) nor any methods, that invoke it, do actually access any files. There's only a string returned, from which a path can be constructed. In other words, a possible workaround would be not passing any unsafe input to FileNameUtils.normalize.
  • Upgrade to Apache Commons IO 2.7, or later, where the same method returns the value null, as an indication of "invalid input".

Categories

4.8
CVSS
Severity: Medium
CVSS 3.1 •
CVSS 2.0 •
EPSS 0.36%
Vendor Advisory apache.org Vendor Advisory apache.org
Affected: Apache Software Foundation Apache Commons IO
Published at:
Updated at:

References

Link Tags
https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/IO-556 vendor advisory issue tracking exploit
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rc359823b5500e9a9a2572678ddb8e01d3505a7ffcadfa8d13b8780ab%40%3Cuser.commons.apache.org%3E vendor advisory mailing list
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rfd01af05babc95b8949e6d8ea78d9834699e1b06981040dde419a330%40%3Cdev.commons.apache.org%3E mailing list
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r8efcbabde973ea72f5e0933adc48ef1425db5cde850bf641b3993f31%40%3Cdev.commons.apache.org%3E mailing list
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r873d5ddafc0a68fd999725e559776dc4971d1ab39c0f5cc81bd9bc04%40%3Ccommits.pulsar.apache.org%3E mailing list
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r0d73e2071d1f1afe1a15da14c5b6feb2cf17e3871168d5a3c8451436%40%3Ccommits.pulsar.apache.org%3E mailing list
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r47ab6f68cbba8e730f42c4ea752f3a44eb95fb09064070f2476bb401%40%3Cdev.creadur.apache.org%3E mailing list
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/raa053846cae9d497606027816ae87b4e002b2e0eb66cb0dee710e1f5%40%3Cdev.creadur.apache.org%3E mailing list
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r8569a41d565ca880a4dee0e645dad1cd17ab4a92e68055ad9ebb7375%40%3Cdev.creadur.apache.org%3E mailing list
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rfa2f08b7c0caf80ca9f4a18bd875918fdd4e894e2ea47942a4589b9c%40%3Cdev.creadur.apache.org%3E mailing list
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r1c2f4683c35696cf6f863e3c107e37ec41305b1930dd40c17260de71%40%3Ccommits.pulsar.apache.org%3E mailing list
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r27b1eedda37468256c4bb768fde1e8b79b37ec975cbbfd0d65a7ac34%40%3Cdev.myfaces.apache.org%3E mailing list
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/ra8ef65aedc086d2d3d21492b4c08ae0eb8a3a42cc52e29ba1bc009d8%40%3Cdev.creadur.apache.org%3E mailing list
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r523a6ffad58f71c4f3761e3cee72df878e48cdc89ebdce933be1475c%40%3Cdev.creadur.apache.org%3E mailing list
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rbebd3e19651baa7a4a5503a9901c95989df9d40602c8e35cb05d3eb5%40%3Cdev.creadur.apache.org%3E mailing list
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r2bc986a070457daca457a54fe71ee09d2584c24dc262336ca32b6a19%40%3Cdev.creadur.apache.org%3E mailing list
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r2721aba31a8562639c4b937150897e24f78f747cdbda8641c0f659fe%40%3Cusers.kafka.apache.org%3E mailing list
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r345330b7858304938b7b8029d02537a116d75265a598c98fa333504a%40%3Cdev.creadur.apache.org%3E mailing list
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rad4ae544747df32ccd58fff5a86cd556640396aeb161aa71dd3d192a%40%3Cuser.commons.apache.org%3E mailing list
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r808be7d93b17a7055c1981a8453ae5f0d0fce5855407793c5d0ffffa%40%3Cuser.commons.apache.org%3E mailing list
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rc65f9bc679feffe4589ea0981ee98bc0af9139470f077a91580eeee0%40%3Cpluto-dev.portals.apache.org%3E mailing list
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rc2dd3204260e9227a67253ef68b6f1599446005bfa0e1ddce4573a80%40%3Cpluto-dev.portals.apache.org%3E mailing list
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r2df50af2641d38f432ef025cd2ba5858215cc0cf3fc10396a674ad2e%40%3Cpluto-scm.portals.apache.org%3E mailing list
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r8bfc7235e6b39d90e6f446325a5a44c3e9e50da18860fdabcee23e29%40%3Cissues.zookeeper.apache.org%3E mailing list
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r92ea904f4bae190b03bd42a4355ce3c2fbe8f36ab673e03f6ca3f9fa%40%3Cnotifications.zookeeper.apache.org%3E mailing list
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rfcd2c649c205f12b72dde044f905903460669a220a2eb7e12652d19d%40%3Cdev.zookeeper.apache.org%3E mailing list
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r2345b49dbffa8a5c3c589c082fe39228a2c1d14f11b96c523da701db%40%3Cnotifications.zookeeper.apache.org%3E mailing list
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r477c285126ada5c3b47946bb702cb222ac4e7fd3100c8549bdd6d3b2%40%3Cissues.zookeeper.apache.org%3E mailing list
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rc10fa20ef4d13cbf6ebe0b06b5edb95466a1424a9b7673074ed03260%40%3Cnotifications.zookeeper.apache.org%3E mailing list
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/08/msg00016.html third party advisory mailing list
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rca71a10ca533eb9bfac2d590533f02e6fb9064d3b6aa3ec90fdc4f51%40%3Cnotifications.zookeeper.apache.org%3E mailing list
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/re41e9967bee064e7369411c28f0f5b2ad28b8334907c9c6208017279%40%3Cnotifications.zookeeper.apache.org%3E mailing list
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rd09d4ab3e32e4b3a480e2ff6ff118712981ca82e817f28f2a85652a6%40%3Cnotifications.zookeeper.apache.org%3E mailing list
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r01b4a1fcdf3311c936ce33d75a9398b6c255f00c1a2f312ac21effe1%40%3Cnotifications.zookeeper.apache.org%3E mailing list
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/red3aea910403d8620c73e1c7b9c9b145798d0469eb3298a7be7891af%40%3Cnotifications.zookeeper.apache.org%3E mailing list
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r20416f39ca7f7344e7d76fe4d7063bb1d91ad106926626e7e83fb346%40%3Cnotifications.zookeeper.apache.org%3E mailing list
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r86528f4b7d222aed7891e7ac03d69a0db2a2dfa17b86ac3470d7f374%40%3Cnotifications.zookeeper.apache.org%3E mailing list
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rc5f3df5316c5237b78a3dff5ab95b311ad08e61d418cd992ca7e34ae%40%3Cnotifications.zookeeper.apache.org%3E mailing list
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r0bfa8f7921abdfae788b1f076a12f73a92c93cc0a6e1083bce0027c5%40%3Cnotifications.zookeeper.apache.org%3E mailing list
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r462db908acc1e37c455e11b1a25992b81efd18e641e7e0ceb1b6e046%40%3Cnotifications.zookeeper.apache.org%3E mailing list
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r4050f9f6b42ebfa47a98cbdee4aabed4bb5fb8093db7dbb88faceba2%40%3Ccommits.zookeeper.apache.org%3E mailing list
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r5149f78be265be69d34eacb4e4b0fc7c9c697bcdfa91a1c1658d717b%40%3Cissues.zookeeper.apache.org%3E mailing list
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuoct2021.html third party advisory
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujan2022.html third party advisory patch
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuapr2022.html third party advisory patch
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20220210-0004/ third party advisory
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujul2022.html third party advisory patch

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the severity of CVE-2021-29425?
CVE-2021-29425 has been scored as a medium severity vulnerability.
How to fix CVE-2021-29425?
As a workaround for remediating CVE-2021-29425: Neither the method in question (FileNameUtils.normalize) nor any methods, that invoke it, do actually access any files. There's only a string returned, from which a path can be constructed. In other words, a possible workaround would be not passing any unsafe input to FileNameUtils.normalize.
Is CVE-2021-29425 being actively exploited in the wild?
It is possible that CVE-2021-29425 is being exploited or will be exploited in a near future based on public information. According to its EPSS score, there is a ~0% probability that this vulnerability will be exploited by malicious actors in the next 30 days.
What software or system is affected by CVE-2021-29425?
CVE-2021-29425 affects Apache Software Foundation Apache Commons IO.
This platform uses data from the NIST NVD, MITRE CVE, MITRE CWE, First.org and CISA KEV but is not endorsed or certified by these entities. CVE is a registred trademark of the MITRE Corporation and the authoritative source of CVE content is MITRE's CVE web site. CWE is a registred trademark of the MITRE Corporation and the authoritative source of CWE content is MITRE's CWE web site.
© 2025 Under My Watch. All Rights Reserved.