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ExploitedNot in CISA KEV yetFix available

CVE-2023-32235

Exploitation confirmed. First attested on 2023-10-14 by GCVE · kevintel, GCVE · shadowserver.

  • Published2023-05-05
  • Fixed in5.42.1
  • WeaknessCWE-22

Am I affected?

With a domain, we read the version its public headers and pages expose. A distribution build can carry the fix under an older number.

Description

Ghost before 5.42.1 allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files within the active theme's folder via /assets/built%2F..%2F..%2F/ directory traversal. This occurs in frontend/web/middleware/static-theme.js.

Timeline

dates in UTC
  1. 2023-05-0505:15CVE publishedNVD
  2. 2023-10-1414:57Listed as exploited by GCVEGCVE
  3. 2023-10-1414:57Exploitation first reportedGCVE
  4. 2025-08-11Exploit-DB entryExploit-DB

Observed activity

isMalicious corpus · updated 2026-11-03 21:37 UTC
Indicators tagged with this CVE, per day0 indicators over 7 days
Block these indicators
  • Firewall list (EDL, text): https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2023-32235?format=txt
  • CSV export: https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2023-32235?format=csv
  • TAXII collection of exploited CVEs
  • The EDL and CSV take an API key on the Pro plan.

Versions per branch

NVD · OSV
Ghost
BranchAffectedFixed in
5.42< 5.42.15.42.1

as publishedRanges as NVD and OSV publish them; a distribution’s build can be fixed under an older number.

Fix

  1. Update Ghost to 5.42.1

Advisories and patches

Detection

read 2026-11-03 22:42 UTC
Nuclei template
available
ProjectDiscovery
Exploit-DB
EDB-52408
Exploit-DB
Proof-of-concept repositories
1 repository, unverifiedAXRoux/Ghost-Path-Traversal-CVE-2023-32235-
PoC-in-GitHub
Metasploit modules
none listed
Metasploit Framework

Sources

Identifiers

Technical details

CVSS v3 Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Published
2023-05-05
Last Modified
2026-06-17
NVD status
Modified
GitHub Advisory
GHSA-wf7x-fh6w-34r6

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-32235?

Ghost before 5.42.1 allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files within the active theme's folder via /assets/built%2F..%2F..%2F/ directory traversal. This occurs in frontend/web/middleware/static-theme.js.

Is CVE-2023-32235 actively exploited?

Active exploitation of CVE-2023-32235 has not been confirmed. Its EPSS score was 39.1% on 2026-11-03, the estimated probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2023-32235?

CVE-2023-32235 has a CVSS v3 base score of 7.5 (HIGH severity), with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N.

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Sources for this record