# CVE-2016-20023: Path traversal in CKFinder

> Authenticated attackers can download arbitrary server files by providing correct paths in CKFinder for ASP.NET.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.0 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 5 Dec 2025
- **Updated:** 5 Dec 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-fv5g-wf76-67g3

## What is CVE-2016-20023?

CVE-2016-20023 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in CKSource CKFinder, published on 5 Dec 2025. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In CKSource CKFinder before 2.5.0.1 for ASP.NET, authenticated users could download any file from the server if the correct path to a file was provided.

Weakness: CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory), CWE-23 (Relative Path Traversal)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-20023?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cksource Ckfinder.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-20023?

No fix has been published for CVE-2016-20023 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2016-20023 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-20023 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in CKSource CKFinder

- [CVE-2019-15862](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-15862/): File upload in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2025-63830](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-63830/): Cross-site scripting in n/a (medium 6.1)
- [CVE-2019-15891](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-15891/): Information disclosure in n/a (medium 5.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-20023 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-20023 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in CKSource CKFinder, published on 5 Dec 2025. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-20023 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: CKSource CKFinder. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-20023/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-20023/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-20023
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-20023
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-20023

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-20023/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.