How severe is CVE-2023-52085?

CVE-2023-52085 has a CVSS score of 3.3/10, rated LOW. Review your exposure and patch according to your risk tolerance.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2023-52085?

CVE-2023-52085 affects the following packages: winter/wn-backend-module (Packagist). Ecosystems affected: Packagist.

How do I fix CVE-2023-52085?

Update winter/wn-backend-module to 1.2.4 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-52085 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2023-52085 in my Packagist dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for winter/wn-backend-module, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate CVE-2023-52085 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-2023-52085 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2023-52085 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-2023-52085?

CVE-2023-52085 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 30.2%, placing it in the 98th 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 warrants monitoring and prompt remediation.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2023-52085?

CVE-2023-52085 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.

Is there exploit tooling available for CVE-2023-52085?

A Nuclei detection template exists for CVE-2023-52085, meaning automated scanners can fingerprint it. Public exploit tooling significantly increases real-world risk — prioritize patching and ensure detection coverage. Exploit tooling should only ever be used in isolated, authorized testing environments.

When was CVE-2023-52085 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2023-52085 was published on December 29, 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.

🐘

🐘 Packagist

Not in CISA KEV

LOW severity

CVE-2023-52085 — wn-backend-module

LOWFix: wintercms/winter@5bc9257

CVE-2023-52085 is a low-severity (CVSS 3.3) Path Traversal vulnerability in winter/wn-backend-module. EPSS puts its 30-day exploitation probability at 30.2% (98th percentile). A fix is available for winter/wn-backend-module — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Winter CMS Local File Inclusion through Server Side Template Injection

Also known asGHSA-2x7r-93ww-cxrq

Published

Dec 29, 2023

Updated

Oct 28, 2026

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Nov 3, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

30.2%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Moderate Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs98th percentile — riskier than 98% 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

1 pkg affected

🐘winter/wn-backend-module

Real-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

Impact

Users with access to backend forms that include a ColorPicker FormWidget can provide a value that would then be included without further processing in the compilation of custom stylesheets via LESS. This had the potential to lead to a Local File Inclusion vulnerability.

By default, only the Brand Settings (backend.manage_branding) and Mail Brand Settings (system.manage_mail_templates) forms both include the colorpicker formwidget and pass the provided value to be compiled in LESS, however it is also common for themes to include it on their Theme Customization (cms.manage_theme_options) form and it is technically possible for the values on that form to also be used in LESS compilation: https://wintercms.com/docs/v1.2/docs/themes/development#asset-compiler-variables.

Patches

This issue has been patched in v1.2.4.

Workarounds

Apply https://github.com/wintercms/winter/commit/5bc9257fe2bc47d8b786a1b1bf96bafad23d8ddd manually if unable to upgrade to v1.2.4.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
🐘Packagist	`winter/wn-backend-module`	all versions	1.2.4`composer require winter/wn-backend-module:^1.2.4`

Affected Products

1 product · 1 configurations

Application

winterwintercms

< 1.2.4

range

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for winter/wn-backend-module, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update winter/wn-backend-module to 1.2.4 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-52085 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.

How to detect CVE-2023-52085

A community-maintained Nuclei template exists for this CVE. You can scan for it directly:

nuclei -id cve-2023-52085 -u https://target

Template: Winter CMS Local File Inclusion - (LFI)
Severity: medium
Impact: Authenticated attackers can include local files via LESS compilation, potentially exposing sensitive file contents and system paths.
Remediation: Upgrade Winter CMS to version 1.2.4 or later.

Template by ProjectDiscovery nuclei-templates (sanineng), MIT licensed. View the full template. Scan only systems you are authorised to test.

Frequently Asked Questions

### Impact Users with access to backend forms that include a [ColorPicker FormWidget](https://wintercms.com/docs/v1.2/docs/backend/forms#color-picker) can provide a value that would then be included without further processing in the compilation of custom stylesheets via LESS. This had the potential to lead to a Local File Inclusion vulnerability. By default, only the Brand Settings (backend.manage_branding) and Mail Brand Settings (system.manage_mail_templates) forms both include the colorpicker formwidget and pass the provided value to be compiled in LESS, however it is also common for theme