CVE-2023-30548 is a medium-severity (CVSS 4.3) Path Traversal vulnerability in gatsby-plugin-sharp. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for gatsby-plugin-sharp — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Path traversal vulnerability in gatsby-plugin-sharp
Exploitation Status
Proof-of-concept exploit code exists
- CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2023-30548.
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-2023-30548 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
How broadly this vulnerability is actually deployed: weekly install volume shows current usage, and reverse-dependency count shows how many other packages break if it stays unpatched.
gatsby-plugin-sharpnpmDescription
Impact
The gatsby-plugin-sharp plugin prior to versions 5.8.1 and 4.25.1 contains a path traversal vulnerability exposed when running the Gatsby develop server (gatsby develop).
The following steps can be used to reproduce the vulnerability:
# Create a new Gatsby project, and install gatsby-plugin-sharp
$ npm init gatsby
$ cd my-gatsby-site
$ npm install gatsby-plugin-sharp
# Add the plugin to gatsby-config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
{
resolve: `gatsby-plugin-sharp`,
},
]
}
# Start the Gatsby develop server
$ gatsby develop
# Execute the path traversal vulnerability
$ curl "http://127.0.0.1:8000/%2e%2e/%2e%2e/%2e%2e/%2e%2e/%2e%2e/%2e%2e/%2e%2e/%2e%2e/%2e%2e/%2e%2e/%2e%2e/%2e%2e/etc/passwd"
It should be noted that by default gatsby develop is only accessible via the localhost 127.0.0.1, and one would need to intentionally expose the server to other interfaces to exploit this vulnerability by using server options such as --host 0.0.0.0, -H 0.0.0.0, or the GATSBY_HOST=0.0.0.0 environment variable.
Patches
A patch has been introduced in [email protected] and [email protected] which mitigates the issue by ensuring that included paths remain within the project directory.
Workarounds
As stated above, by default gatsby develop is only exposed to the localhost 127.0.0.1. For those using the develop server in the default configuration no risk is posed. If other ranges are required, preventing the develop server from being exposed to untrusted interfaces or IP address ranges would mitigate the risk from this vulnerability.
We encourage projects to upgrade to the latest major release branch for all Gatsby plugins to ensure the latest security updates and bug fixes are received in a timely manner.
Credits
We would like to thank Patrick Rombouts and Bart Veneman [drukwerkdeal.nl] for bringing the issue to our attention.
For more information
Email us at [email protected].
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | gatsby-plugin-sharp | ≥ 5.0.0&&< 5.8.1 | 5.8.1npm install gatsby-plugin-sharp@5.8.1 |
| 📦npm | gatsby-plugin-sharp | all versions | 4.25.1npm install gatsby-plugin-sharp@4.25.1 |
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 gatsby-plugin-sharp, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update gatsby-plugin-sharp to 5.8.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-30548 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-2023-30548 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2023-30548. 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-2023-30548 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2023-30548 across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.