GHSA-hhmc-q9hp-r662 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) Path Traversal vulnerability in codeigniter4/framework. A fix is available for codeigniter4/framework — see the affected versions and patch details below.
CodeIgniter: Path traversal in UploadedFile::move() when using client-provided filenames
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
- 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 GHSA-hhmc-q9hp-r662.
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
GHSA-hhmc-q9hp-r662 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 377,166 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
codeigniter4/frameworkReal-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
In affected versions, calling UploadedFile::move() without a second argument uses the client-provided filename without sanitization. Depending on the destination path and server configuration, an attacker can supply a filename containing path traversal sequences (e.g. ../../public/shell.php) to write uploaded content outside the intended upload directory.
The patch sanitizes this default (no-argument) path.
Note: The patch only sanitizes the filename when no second argument is passed. If your application explicitly passes a client-provided name as the second argument, you remain responsible for sanitizing it - the patch does not (and cannot) sanitize a caller-supplied filename:
// Unsafe - even after upgrading:
$file->move(WRITEPATH . 'uploads', $file->getName());
$file->move(WRITEPATH . 'uploads', $file->getClientName());
Patches
Upgrade to v4.7.4 or later.
Workarounds
If you cannot upgrade immediately, use a generated filename or sanitize the client filename before passing it to move().
Use a generated filename:
$file->move(WRITEPATH . 'uploads', $file->getRandomName());
Or sanitize the client filename before passing it to move():
helper('security');
$name = sanitize_filename($file->getClientName());
$file->move(WRITEPATH . 'uploads', $name);
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐘Packagist | codeigniter4/framework | all versions | 4.7.4composer require codeigniter4/framework:^4.7.4 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for codeigniter4/framework, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update codeigniter4/framework to 4.7.4 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-hhmc-q9hp-r662 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 GHSA-hhmc-q9hp-r662 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-hhmc-q9hp-r662. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-hhmc-q9hp-r662 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-hhmc-q9hp-r662 across Packagist dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.