CVE-2025-70952: Pf4j Path Traversal Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-5458-7hh9-v7p4
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CWE-23 CWE-22
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2025-70952 is a HIGH path traversal vulnerability (CWE-23: Relative Path Traversal) affecting Pf4j libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves pf4j is vulnerable to path traversal or zip slip attack through improper handling of zip entry names. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 3.14.1.

CVE-2025-70952 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2025-70952
GHSA Identifier GHSA-5458-7hh9-v7p4
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification CWE-23: Relative Path Traversal
Affected Product Pf4j
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix CVE-2025-70952

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Pf4j 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.pf4j:pf4j fixed: 3.14.1 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.pf4j</groupId>
    <artifactId>pf4j</artifactId>
    <version>3.14.1</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.pf4j

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2025-70952, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.pf4j

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Pf4j in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 3.14.1), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.pf4j 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 Pf4j, 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

pf4j before 20c2f80 has a path traversal vulnerability in the extract() function of Unzip.java, where improper handling of zip entry names can allow directory traversal or Zip Slip attacks, due to a lack of proper path normalization and validation.

CVE-2025-70952 Affected Pf4j Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
3.14.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.pf4j:pf4j
maven/org.pf4j/pf4j
Maven
< 3.14.1
3.14.1

References

NVD — CVE-2025-70952 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-70952
Pf4j Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pf4j/pf4j/issues/618
Pf4j Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pf4j/pf4j/issues/623
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/pf4j/pf4j/commit/20c2f80089d1ea779e22c2de5f109a0bce4e1b14
Pf4j Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://gist.github.com/weaver4VD/410f23adb24ef5f5077f021f4393e705
Pf4j Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pf4j/pf4j

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-70952?
CVE-2025-70952 is a security vulnerability in Pf4j involving pf4j is vulnerable to Path Traversal or Zip Slip attack through improper handling of zip entry names under CWE-23: Relative Path Traversal.
Which Pf4j versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 3.14.1 across affected packages: org.pf4j:pf4j.
What version fixes CVE-2025-70952?
Upgrading to 3.14.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is pf4j affected?
Yes, org.pf4j:pf4j is affected in releases prior to 3.14.1. Upgrade your dependency to 3.14.1 or later.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2025-70952?
CVE-2025-70952 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-2025-70952?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.pf4j'. 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-5458-7hh9-v7p4",
  "modified" : "2026-03-27T19:49:01Z",
  "published" : "2026-03-25T21:30:35Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2025-70952" ],
  "summary" : "pf4j is vulnerable to Path Traversal or Zip Slip attack through improper handling of zip entry names ",
  "details" : "pf4j before 20c2f80 has a path traversal vulnerability in the extract() function of Unzip.java, where improper handling of zip entry names can allow directory traversal or Zip Slip attacks, due to a lack of proper path normalization and validation.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.pf4j:pf4j"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3.14.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-70952"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pf4j/pf4j/issues/618"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pf4j/pf4j/issues/623"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pf4j/pf4j/commit/20c2f80089d1ea779e22c2de5f109a0bce4e1b14"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://gist.github.com/weaver4VD/410f23adb24ef5f5077f021f4393e705"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pf4j/pf4j"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-22", "CWE-23" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-03-27T19:49:00Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-03-25T19:16:28Z"
  }
}