# CVE-2020-27467: Path traversal in n/a

> Attackers can read arbitrary files via directory traversal in ProcessWire CMS, requiring an upgrade to secure the application.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/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:** 22 Feb 2022
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-457f-q7w2-wmhh

## What is CVE-2020-27467?

CVE-2020-27467 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in n/a, published on 22 Feb 2022. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A Directory Traversal vulnerability exits in Processwire CMS before 2.7.1 via the download parameter to index.php.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-27467?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Processwire Processwire.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-27467?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-27467 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-27467 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2020-27467 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Processwire CMS <2.7.1 - Local File Inclusion (nuclei): http/cves/2020/CVE-2020-27467.yaml

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2023-24676](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-24676/): Arbitrary Code Execution in Processwire (high 7.2)
- [CVE-2025-60790](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-60790/): ProcessWire CMS vulnerable to resource-exhaustion Denial of Service (medium 6.5)
- [CVE-2022-40488](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-40488/): ProcessWire vulnerable to Cross-Site Request Forgery (medium 6.5)
- [CVE-2022-40487](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-40487/): ProcessWire vulnerable to Cross-site Scripting (medium 6.1)
- [CVE-2024-41597](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-41597/): ProcessWire Cross Site Request Forgery vulnerability (medium 4.2)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-27467 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-27467 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in n/a, published on 22 Feb 2022. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2020-27467 exists.

Affected product: n/a. 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-2020-27467/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-27467/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-27467
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-27467
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-27467

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-27467/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.