CVE-2012-3521 — geshi
CVE-2012-3521 is a Path Traversal vulnerability in geshi/geshi. 1 public exploit or proof-of-concept reference is indexed, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for geshi/geshi — see the affected versions and patch details below.
GeSHi vulnerable to Directory Traversal
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
Real-World Exposure
geshi/geshiReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Packagist packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Multiple directory traversal vulnerabilities in the cssgen contrib module in GeSHi before 1.0.8.11 allow remote attackers to read arbitrary files via a .. (dot dot) in the (1) geshi-path or (2) geshi-lang-path parameter.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐘Packagist | geshi/geshi | all versions | 1.0.8.11composer require geshi/geshi:^1.0.8.11 |
Affected Products
geshiqbnzResearch use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for geshi/geshi, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update geshi/geshi to 1.0.8.11 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2012-3521 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Resolve every user-supplied path to its canonical form and reject anything that escapes the intended directory, and run the component under an account that has no read or write access outside the directory it legitimately serves.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2012-3521 in your dependencies?
Find it across Packagist, including transitive dependencies.