How severe is CVE-2022-23532?

CVE-2022-23532 has a CVSS score of 7.1/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2022-23532?

CVE-2022-23532 affects the following packages: org.neo4j.procedure:apoc (Maven), org.neo4j.procedure:apoc (Maven). Ecosystems affected: Maven.

How do I fix CVE-2022-23532?

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.

How do I detect CVE-2022-23532 in my Maven dependencies?

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.

How do I mitigate CVE-2022-23532 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

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.

Is CVE-2022-23532 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2022-23532 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 is the EPSS score for CVE-2022-23532?

CVE-2022-23532 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 0.7%, placing it in the 53th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2022-23532?

CVE-2022-23532 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-2022-23532 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2022-23532 was published on January 14, 2023 and was last updated on October 28, 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-2022-23532 — apoc

HIGHFix: neo4j-contrib/neo4j-apoc-procedures@01e63ed

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

Also known asGHSA-5v8v-gwmw-qw97

Published

Jan 14, 2023

Updated

Oct 28, 2026

Affected

2 pkgs

Patched

2 / 2

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Nov 5, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

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

via FIRST.org ↗

0.7%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs53th percentile — riskier than 53% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

How urgent is this, really

Where this sits among everything scored

Real-World Exposure

2 pkgs affected

☕org.neo4j.procedure:apoc☕org.neo4j.procedure:apoc

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

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

2 total 2 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
☕Maven	`org.neo4j.procedure:apoc`	all versions	4.3.0.12`org.neo4j.procedure:apoc:4.3.0.12`
☕Maven	`org.neo4j.procedure:apoc`	≥ 4.4.0.0&&< 4.4.0.12	4.4.0.12`org.neo4j.procedure:apoc:4.4.0.12`

Affected Products

1 product · 3 configurations

Application

awesome procedures on cyperneo4j

≥ 4.4.0.0 && < 4.4.0.12

1 version

5.3.0

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
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
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

### 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 th