Authenticated arbitrary file deletion via path traversal
Published Sep 30, 2022 · Updated May 20, 2025
Path traversal in HTMLy before 2.8.1 allows remote authenticated users to delete arbitrary files through the backup endpoint. The /admin/backup handler accepts parent-directory segments in the file parameter, causing deletion to resolve outside the backup directory. Dashboard access is required, and deletion is limited to files writable by the web server account; removing critical files can interrupt the hosted site.
Summary
What happened
Path traversal in HTMLy before 2.8.1 allows remote authenticated users to delete arbitrary files through the backup endpoint. The /admin/backup handler accepts parent-directory segments in the file parameter, causing deletion to resolve outside the backup directory. Dashboard access is required, and deletion is limited to files writable by the web server account; removing critical files can interrupt the hosted site.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2021-33354
- Published
- Sep 30, 2022
- Updated
- May 20, 2025
- Vendor
- Unknown vendor
- Product
- Unknown product
- Classifications
- CWE-22, T1485
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 30, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 20, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- HTMLy backup file-deletion proof of conceptproof of concept · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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