CVE-2022-23532 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.1) Path Traversal vulnerability in org.neo4j.procedure:apoc. A fix is available for org.neo4j.procedure:apoc — see the affected versions and patch details below.
neo4j-apoc-procedures is vulnerable to path traversal
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2022-23532.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2022-23532 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 378,156 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
org.neo4j.procedure:apoc☕org.neo4j.procedure:apocReal-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
Impact
A Path Traversal Vulnerability found in the apoc.export.* procedures of apoc plugins in Neo4j Graph database. The issue allows a malicious actor to potentially break out of the expected directory. The vulnerability is such that files could only be created but not overwritten.
For the vulnerability to be exploited, an attacker would need access to execute an arbitrary query, either by having access to an authenticated Neo4j client, or a Cypher injection vulnerability in an application. The procedure would need to have been allow listed in the neo4j configuration as well as having the apoc config apoc.export.file.enabled set to true.
On a UNIX based system the following query allows arbitrary write access to the tmp folder:
CALL apoc.export.csv.query('RETURN 1', 'file:///..//..//..//..//tmp/test.txt', {})
Patches
The users should aim to use the latest released version compatible with their Neo4j version. The minimum versions containing patch for this vulnerability are 4.4.0.12 and 4.3.0.12.
Workarounds
If you cannot upgrade the library, you can control the allowlist of the procedures that can be used in your system, and/or turn off local file access by setting apoc.export.file.enabled=false
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Open an issue in neo4j-apoc-procedures
- Email us at [email protected]
Credits
We want to publicly recognise the contribution Adam Reziouk - Airbus.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.neo4j.procedure:apoc | all versions | 4.3.0.12org.neo4j.procedure:apoc:4.3.0.12 |
| ☕Maven | org.neo4j.procedure:apoc | ≥ 4.4.0.0&&< 4.4.0.12 | 4.4.0.12org.neo4j.procedure:apoc:4.4.0.12 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.neo4j.procedure:apoc, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.neo4j.procedure:apoc to 4.3.0.12 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-23532 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 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2022-23532 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2022-23532. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2022-23532 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2022-23532 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.