Weakness · Medium

CWE-49: Path Equivalence: 'filename/' (Trailing Slash)

What it is

The product accepts path input in the form of trailing slash ('filedir/') without appropriate validation, which can lead to ambiguous path resolution and allow an attacker to traverse the file system to unintended locations or access arbitrary files.

MITRE CWE 4.19.1

Severity (our rating)
Medium
Likelihood of exploit
Not rated by MITRE
Introduced during
Implementation, Operation
Exploited in the wild
No CVE in CISA's catalog

What an attacker can do

  • Read Files or Directories (Confidentiality, Integrity)
  • Modify Files or Directories (Confidentiality, Integrity)

How to prevent it

MITRE lists no specific mitigation for this weakness. Treat it like its parent weaknesses below: validate input, keep the design simple and review the code where it could appear.

CWE-49 on MITRE's CWE site

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Source: MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration, CWE version 4.19.1. CWE is a trademark of The MITRE Corporation.