CVE-2022-26960 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.1) Path Traversal vulnerability in studio-42/elfinder. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for studio-42/elfinder — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Path Traversal in Studio-42 elFinder through 2.1.60
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-2022-26960 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE sits: patch-first territory.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 377,636 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the 50–90% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
studio-42/elfinderReal-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
connector.minimal.php in std42 elFinder through 2.1.60 is affected by path traversal. This allows unauthenticated remote attackers to read, write, and browse files outside the configured document root. This is due to improper handling of absolute file paths.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐘Packagist | studio-42/elfinder | all versions | 2.1.61composer require studio-42/elfinder:^2.1.61 |
Research 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 studio-42/elfinder, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update studio-42/elfinder to 2.1.61 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-26960 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-2022-26960 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2022-26960. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
How to detect CVE-2022-26960
A community-maintained Nuclei template exists for this CVE. You can scan for it directly:
nuclei -id cve-2022-26960 -u https://target- Template
- elFinder <=2.1.60 - Local File Inclusion
- Severity
- critical
- Impact
- Successful exploitation of this vulnerability can lead to unauthorized access to sensitive files, remote code execution, and potential compromise of the entire system.
- Remediation
- Upgrade elFinder to version 2.1.61 or later to mitigate this vulnerability.
Template by ProjectDiscovery nuclei-templates (pikpikcu), MIT licensed. View the full template. Scan only systems you are authorised to test.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2022-26960 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2022-26960 across Packagist dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.