CVE-2025-27553: Commons vfs2 Path Traversal Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-9q4x-fr4m-jp86
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-23
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2025-27553 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) path traversal vulnerability (CWE-23: Relative Path Traversal) affecting Commons vfs2 libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves apache commons vfs has relative path traversal vulnerability. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2.10.0.

CVE-2025-27553 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2025-27553
GHSA Identifier GHSA-9q4x-fr4m-jp86
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-23: Relative Path Traversal
Affected Product Commons vfs2
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.5

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:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N).

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

How to Fix CVE-2025-27553

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Commons vfs2 dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

org.apache.commons:commons-vfs2 fixed: 2.10.0 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apache.commons</groupId>
    <artifactId>commons-vfs2</artifactId>
    <version>2.10.0</version>
</dependency>
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

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

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.commons

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2025-27553, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.commons

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Commons vfs2 in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 2.10.0), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.commons command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-23: Relative 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 sequences such as ".." that can resolve to a location that is outside of that directory. In Commons vfs2, 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

Relative Path Traversal vulnerability in Apache Commons VFS before 2.10.0. The FileObject API in Commons VFS has a 'resolveFile' method that takes a 'scope' parameter. Specifying 'NameScope.DESCENDENT' promises that "an exception is thrown if the resolved file is not a descendent of the base file". However, when the path contains encoded ".." characters (for example, "%2E%2E/bar.txt"), it might return file objects that are not a descendent of the base file, without throwing an exception. This issue affects Apache Commons VFS: before 2.10.0. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 2.10.0, which fixes the issue.

CVE-2025-27553 Affected Commons vfs2 Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2.10.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.apache.commons:commons-vfs2
maven/org.apache.commons/commons-vfs2
Maven
< 2.10.0
2.10.0

References

NVD — CVE-2025-27553 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-27553
Commons vfs2 Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/apache/commons-vfs
lists.apache.org/thread/cnzqowyw9r2p... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread/cnzqowyw9r2pl263cylmxhnvh41hyjcb
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce... WEB
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/04/msg00006.html
Commons vfs2 Security Information SECURITY
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2025/03/23/1

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-27553?
CVE-2025-27553 is a security vulnerability in Commons vfs2 involving Apache Commons VFS Has Relative Path Traversal Vulnerability under CWE-23: Relative Path Traversal.
Which Commons vfs2 versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2.10.0 across affected packages: org.apache.commons:commons-vfs2.
What version fixes CVE-2025-27553?
Upgrading to 2.10.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is commons-vfs2 affected?
Yes, org.apache.commons:commons-vfs2 is affected in releases prior to 2.10.0. Upgrade your dependency to 2.10.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2025-27553?
CVE-2025-27553 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2025-27553?
CVE-2025-27553 is classified under CWE-23: Relative Path Traversal (The product uses external input to construct a pathname that should be within a restricted directory, but it does not properly neutralize sequences such as ".." that can resolve to a location that is outside of that directory.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2025-27553?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.commons'. 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-9q4x-fr4m-jp86",
  "modified" : "2025-04-03T00:31:31Z",
  "published" : "2025-03-23T15:30:33Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2025-27553" ],
  "summary" : "Apache Commons VFS Has Relative Path Traversal Vulnerability",
  "details" : "Relative Path Traversal vulnerability in Apache Commons VFS before 2.10.0.\n\nThe FileObject API in Commons VFS has a 'resolveFile' method that\ntakes a 'scope' parameter. Specifying 'NameScope.DESCENDENT' promises that \"an exception is thrown if the resolved file is not a descendent of\nthe base file\". However, when the path contains encoded \"..\"\ncharacters (for example, \"%2E%2E/bar.txt\"), it might return file objects that are not\na descendent of the base file, without throwing an exception.\nThis issue affects Apache Commons VFS: before 2.10.0.\n\nUsers are recommended to upgrade to version 2.10.0, which fixes the issue.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.apache.commons:commons-vfs2"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.10.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-27553"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/apache/commons-vfs"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.apache.org/thread/cnzqowyw9r2pl263cylmxhnvh41hyjcb"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/04/msg00006.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2025/03/23/1"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-23" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2025-03-25T03:21:09Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2025-03-23T15:15:13Z"
  }
}