How severe is CVE-2018-13864?

CVE-2018-13864 has a CVSS score of 7.5/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2018-13864?

CVE-2018-13864 affects the following packages: com.typesafe.play:play_2.12 (Maven). Ecosystems affected: Maven.

How do I fix CVE-2018-13864?

Update com.typesafe.play:play_2.12 to 2.6.16 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2018-13864 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2018-13864 in my Maven dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for com.typesafe.play:play_2.12. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.

How do I mitigate CVE-2018-13864 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.

How does O3 Security protect against CVE-2018-13864?

O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2018-13864 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.

Is CVE-2018-13864 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2018-13864 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2018-13864?

CVE-2018-13864 is classified as Path Traversal (CWE-22). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation. This is a high-impact weakness class that often enables remote code execution or data exposure.

When was CVE-2018-13864 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2018-13864 was published on July 17, 2018 and was last updated on July 8, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

☕

☕ Maven

Not in CISA KEV

HIGH severity

CVE-2018-13864

HIGH

CVE-2018-13864 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) Path Traversal vulnerability in com.typesafe.play:play_2.12. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2018-13864 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.

Play Framework's Assets controller vulnerable to directory traversal

Also known asGHSA-v4mq-p756-p4f5

Published

Jul 17, 2018

Updated

Jul 8, 2026

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Jul 8, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected

☕com.typesafe.play:play_2.12

Real-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Maven packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.

Description

A directory traversal vulnerability has been found in the Assets controller in Play Framework 2.6.12 through 2.6.15 (fixed in 2.6.16) when running on Windows. It allows a remote attacker to download arbitrary files from the target server via specially crafted HTTP requests.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
☕Maven	`com.typesafe.play:play_2.12`	≥ 2.6.12&&< 2.6.16	2.6.16

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for com.typesafe.play:play_2.12. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update com.typesafe.play:play_2.12 to 2.6.16 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2018-13864 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2018-13864 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.

Tailored to CVE-2018-13864. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Frequently Asked Questions

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2018-13864 in your dependencies?

O3 detects CVE-2018-13864 across Maven dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works