High

Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') in micronaut-core

  • Disclosed: 26.07.2021
  • Updated: 11.10.2026 12:22

With a basic configuration like

yaml
router:
  static-resources:
    assets:
      enabled: true
      mapping: /.assets/public/**
      paths: file:/home/lstrmiska/test/

it is possible to access any file from a filesystem, using "/../../" in URL, as Micronaut does not restrict file access to configured paths.

Repro Steps

  • create a file test.txt in /home/lstrmiska
  • start micronaut
  • execute command curl -v --path-as-is "http://localhost:8080/.assets/public/../test.txt"

Impact

Micronaut can potentially leak sensitive information.

See https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/22.html

Patches

diff --git a/core/src/main/java/io/micronaut/core/io/file/DefaultFileSystemResourceLoader.java b/core/src/main/java/io/micronaut/core/io/file/DefaultFileSystemResourceLoader.java
index 2f5a91403..19d3b7f05 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/io/micronaut/core/io/file/DefaultFileSystemResourceLoader.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/io/micronaut/core/io/file/DefaultFileSystemResourceLoader.java
@@ -69,6 +69,9 @@ public class DefaultFileSystemResourceLoader implements FileSystemResourceLoader
     @Override
     public Optional<InputStream> getResourceAsStream(String path) {
         Path filePath = getFilePath(normalize(path));
+        if (pathOutsideBase(filePath)) {
+            return Optional.empty();
+        }
         try {
             return Optional.of(Files.newInputStream(filePath));
         } catch (IOException e) {
@@ -79,7 +82,7 @@ public class DefaultFileSystemResourceLoader implements FileSystemResourceLoader
     @Override
     public Optional<URL> getResource(String path) {
         Path filePath = getFilePath(normalize(path));
-        if (Files.exists(filePath) && Files.isReadable(filePath) && !Files.isDirectory(filePath)) {
+        if (!pathOutsideBase(filePath) && Files.exists(filePath) && Files.isReadable(filePath) && !Files.isDirectory(filePath)) {
             try {
                 URL url = filePath.toUri().toURL();
                 return Optional.of(url);
@@ -117,4 +120,15 @@ public class DefaultFileSystemResourceLoader implements FileSystemResourceLoader
     private Path getFilePath(String path) {
         return baseDirPath.map(dir -> dir.resolve(path)).orElseGet(() -> Paths.get(path));
     }
+
+    private boolean pathOutsideBase(Path path) {
+        if (baseDirPath.isPresent()) {
+            Path baseDir = baseDirPath.get();
+            if (path.isAbsolute() == baseDir.isAbsolute()) {
+                Path relativePath = baseDir.relativize(path);
+                return relativePath.startsWith("..");
+            }
+        }
+        return false;
+    }
 }
--

Workarounds

  • do not use ** in mapping, use only * which exposes only flat structure of a directory not allowing traversal
  • run micronaut in chroot (linux only)

References

See https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/22.html

For more information

If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:

Affected software

Click a technology to see all vulnerabilities affecting it.

PlatformPackageVulnerable versionsFixed in
Java / Kotlin (Maven) io.micronaut:micronaut-http-server-netty < 2.5.9 2.5.9

References

CVSS score 7.5/10
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Weakness (CWE)
CWE-22
Platform
Java / Kotlin (Maven)
Package
io.micronaut:micronaut-http-server-netty
Disclosed
26.07.2021
Updated
11.10.2026 12:22

Sources and licenses

OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-cjx7-399x-p2rj - CC BY 4.0

Vulnerability history: io.micronaut:micronaut-http-server-netty

All published vulnerabilities of this package (Java / Kotlin (Maven)), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.

Total entries
2
First → latest
07.2021 02.2024
Without a fix
0
Exploited in attacks
0

Severity breakdown

  • High 1
  • Medium 1

Disclosures per year

  1. 2021: 1
  2. 2022: 0
  3. 2023: 0
  4. 2024: 1
  5. 2025: 0
  6. 2026: 0
  1. Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') in micronaut-core this entry
    High · 7.5 CVE-2021-32769 < 2.5.9 2.5.9

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