CVE-2023-32235

HIGHNVD 7.59.0▲Elevated

7.5

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.

CVSS v3: 7.5
EG Score: 9.0(high)
EPSS: 99.9%
KEV: Not listed

Published

May 5, 2023

Last Modified

January 29, 2025

References (4)

cve@mitrehttps://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/commit/378dd913aa8d0fd0da29b0ffced8884579598b0f
cve@mitrehttps://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/compare/v5.42.0...v5.42.1
af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/commit/378dd913aa8d0fd0da29b0ffced8884579598b0f
af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/compare/v5.42.0...v5.42.1

Affected Packages

(1 across 1 ecosystem)

npm(1)

Package	Vulnerable range	Fixed in	Dependents
ghost	—	5.42.1	—

Weakness Classification(1)

MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.

CWE-22Path Traversal

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 2× in last 7d / 3× in last 30d)

Every time one of our enrichment pipelines (NVD, MITRE cvelistV5, EPSS, CISA KEV, GHSA, OSV, vendor advisories) ran against this CVE. Most recent first.

2026-06-01 13:51 UTCepss_batch
2026-06-01 13:51 UTCepss_batch
2026-05-25 01:54 UTCEG score recompute

Publicly available exploits

(3 references)

Working exploit code is in the public domain (1 GitHub PoC) (1 Exploit-DB entry). Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly — public PoCs typically lead to mass-exploitation within 24-72 hours.

Exploit-DBEDB-52408
First seen Aug 11, 2025
Ghost CMS 5.42.1 - Path Traversal
Open source ↗
GitHub PoCAXRoux/Ghost-Path-Traversal-CVE-2023-32235-
First seen Jul 9, 2023
A Directory Traversal attack (also known as path traversal) aims to access files and directories that are stored outside the intended folder.
Open source ↗
Nucleihttp/cves/2023/CVE-2023-32235.yaml
First seen Jan 1, 2023
Ghost CMS < 5.42.1 - Path Traversal
Open source ↗

Frequently asked(5)

What is CVE-2023-32235?

CVE-2023-32235 is a high vulnerability published on May 5, 2023. 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.

When was CVE-2023-32235 disclosed?

CVE-2023-32235 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on May 5, 2023, with the most recent update on January 29, 2025. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.

Is CVE-2023-32235 actively exploited?

CVE-2023-32235 is not currently on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. FIRST EPSS estimates a 99.9% percentile likelihood of exploitation in the next 30 days — higher percentiles indicate greater predicted risk.

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

CVE-2023-32235 has a CVSS v3 base score of 7.5 (NVD). EchelonGraph synthesises NVD + CISA KEV + FIRST EPSS + GHSA into a combined EG score of 9.0.

How do I remediate CVE-2023-32235?

Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2023-32235, EchelonGraph cross-links them in the Vendor Advisories panel below — those typically contain the canonical remediation steps, fixed version numbers, and any vendor-specific mitigations.

Dependency Blast Radius

See which npm, PyPI, Go, and Maven packages are affected by CVE-2023-32235

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CVE-2023-32235

📅 Published

🔄 Last Modified

🔗 References (4)