CVE-2023-27534Public exploitNetwork attack vector

SFTP path traversal via overbroad tilde expansion

Published Mar 30, 2023 · Updated Apr 23, 2025

Path traversal in curl 7.18.0 through 7.88.1 allows attackers to access unintended SFTP paths through crafted URLs. The first SFTP path element treats a tilde prefix, rather than only a standalone tilde, as a home-directory marker, so /~2/foo resolves beside the user's home directory. Exploitation requires an authenticated SFTP connection, and the redirected transfer can read or write only what that account's server-side permissions allow.

CVSS severity8.8
High
EPSS probability2.20%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Path traversal in curl 7.18.0 through 7.88.1 allows attackers to access unintended SFTP paths through crafted URLs. The first SFTP path element treats a tilde prefix, rather than only a standalone tilde, as a home-directory marker, so /~2/foo resolves beside the user's home directory. Exploitation requires an authenticated SFTP connection, and the redirected transfer can read or write only what that account's server-side permissions allow.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-27534
Published
Mar 30, 2023
Updated
Apr 23, 2025
Vendor
curl
Product
curl
Classifications
CWE-22
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 30, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Apr 23, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=Fixed in 8.0.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

curl · curlversion=Fixed in 8.0.0

Published CVSS scores

8.8CISA-ADPCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
8.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-22Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo