# CVE-2020-15236: Directory Traversal in Wiki.js

> Attackers can read arbitrary files on the server via directory traversal when local asset caching storage modules are enabled.

- **Severity:** High 8.6 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 5 Oct 2020
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-whpv-5xg2-w527

## What is CVE-2020-15236?

CVE-2020-15236 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Requarks wiki, published on 5 Oct 2020. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In Wiki.js before version 2.5.151, directory traversal outside of Wiki.js context is possible when a storage module with local asset cache fetching is enabled. A malicious user can potentially read any file on the file system by crafting a special URL that allows for directory traversal. This is only possible when a storage module implementing local asset cache (e.g Local File System or Git) is enabled and that no web application firewall solution (e.g. cloudflare) strips potentially malicious URLs. Commit 084dcd69d1591586ee4752101e675d5f0ac6dcdc fixes this vulnerability by sanitizing the path before it is passed on to the storage module. The sanitization step removes any directory traversal (e.g. `..` and `.`) sequences as well as invalid filesystem characters from the path. As a workaround, disable any storage module with local asset caching capabilities such as Local File System and Git.

Weakness: CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-15236?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Requarks Wiki.js.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-15236?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-15236 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-15236 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-15236 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Requarks wiki

- [CVE-2025-56643](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-56643/): Security feature bypass in n/a (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2026-44224](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-44224/): Wiki.js: Privilege Escalation via Missing Group Validation in users.update (high 8.6)
- [CVE-2021-43855](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-43855/): Stored XSS via SVG in Requarks/wiki (high 8.2)
- [CVE-2021-43856](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-43856/): Stored XSS in non-image uploads in Requarks/wiki (high 8.2)
- [CVE-2022-23654](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-23654/): Improper write access check in Requarks/wiki (high 8.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-15236 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-15236 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Requarks wiki, published on 5 Oct 2020. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-15236 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Requarks wiki. 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-2020-15236/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-15236/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-15236
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-15236
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-15236

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-15236/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.