CVE-2023-39916: Routinator Path Traversal Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-5rxf-fqch-7vqp
Share
CVSS 9.3
CWE-35 CWE-22
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2023-39916 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.3) path traversal vulnerability (CWE-35: Path Traversal: '.../...//') affecting Routinator libraries in the crates.io ecosystem. The issue involves nlnet labs’ routinator vulnerable to path traversal. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.12.2.

CVE-2023-39916 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2023-39916
GHSA Identifier GHSA-5rxf-fqch-7vqp
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.3
CWE Classification CWE-35: Path Traversal: '.../...//'
Affected Product Routinator
Package Ecosystem crates.io
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 9.3

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction Required (UI:R)
Scope Changed (S:C)
Confidentiality None (C:N)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2023-39916

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Routinator dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

routinator fixed: 0.12.2 
Upgrade routinator to 0.12.2
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

inspect dependencies for routinator

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2023-39916, inspect your project dependencies for Routinator:

inspect dependencies for routinator

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Routinator in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.12.2), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-35: Path Traversal: '.../...//', where the product uses external input to construct a pathname that should be within a restricted directory, but it does not properly neutralize '.../...//' (doubled triple dot slash) sequences that can resolve to a location that is outside of that directory. In Routinator, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

NLnet Labs’ Routinator 0.9.0 up to and including 0.12.1 contains a possible path traversal vulnerability in the optional, off-by-default keep-rrdp-responses feature that allows users to store the content of responses received for RRDP requests. The location of these stored responses is constructed from the URL of the request. Due to insufficient sanitation of the URL, it is possible for an attacker to craft a URL that results in the response being stored outside of the directory specified for it.

CVE-2023-39916 Affected Routinator Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.12.2
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
routinator
 crates.io
≥ 0.9.0
< 0.12.2
0.12.2

References

NVD — CVE-2023-39916 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-39916
Routinator Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/NLnetLabs/routinator/pull/892
Routinator Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/NLnetLabs/routinator
Routinator Release RELEASE
https://github.com/NLnetLabs/routinator/releases/tag/v0.12.2
nlnetlabs.nl/downloads/routinato... WEB
https://nlnetlabs.nl/downloads/routinator/CVE-2023-39916.txt

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-39916?
CVE-2023-39916 is a security vulnerability in Routinator involving NLnet Labs’ Routinator vulnerable to path traversal under CWE-35: Path Traversal: '.../...//'.
Which Routinator versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.12.2 across affected packages: routinator.
What version fixes CVE-2023-39916?
Upgrading to 0.12.2 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is routinator affected?
Yes, routinator is affected in releases prior to 0.12.2. Upgrade your dependency to 0.12.2 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-39916?
CVE-2023-39916 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.3 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2023-39916?
CVE-2023-39916 is classified under CWE-35: Path Traversal: '.../...//' (The product uses external input to construct a pathname that should be within a restricted directory, but it does not properly neutralize '.../...//' (doubled triple dot slash) sequences that can resolve to a location that is outside of that directory.).
How can I check crates.io dependencies for CVE-2023-39916?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for routinator'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-5rxf-fqch-7vqp",
  "modified" : "2025-10-03T14:21:45Z",
  "published" : "2023-09-13T15:31:14Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2023-39916" ],
  "summary" : "NLnet Labs’ Routinator vulnerable to path traversal",
  "details" : "NLnet Labs’ Routinator 0.9.0 up to and including 0.12.1 contains a possible path traversal vulnerability in the optional, off-by-default keep-rrdp-responses feature that allows users to store the content of responses received for RRDP requests. The location of these stored responses is constructed from the URL of the request. Due to insufficient sanitation of the URL, it is possible for an attacker to craft a URL that results in the response being stored outside of the directory specified for it.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "crates.io",
      "name" : "routinator"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0.9.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.12.2"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-39916"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/NLnetLabs/routinator/pull/892"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/NLnetLabs/routinator"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/NLnetLabs/routinator/releases/tag/v0.12.2"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://nlnetlabs.nl/downloads/routinator/CVE-2023-39916.txt"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-22", "CWE-35" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2025-10-03T14:21:45Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2023-09-13T15:15:07Z"
  }
}