# CVE-2021-33178: Path traversal in NagVis

> Authenticated attackers can exploit a path traversal flaw in NagVis to arbitrarily delete files on the local system.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 14 Oct 2021
- **Updated:** 3 Nov 2025
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2021-33178, GHSA-g6fj-g9qm-g5xw, UBUNTU-CVE-2021-33178

## What is CVE-2021-33178?

CVE-2021-33178 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in NagVis, published on 14 Oct 2021. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The Manage Backgrounds functionality within NagVis versions prior to 1.9.29 is vulnerable to an authenticated path traversal vulnerability. Exploitation of this results in a malicious actor having the ability to arbitrarily delete files on the local system.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-33178?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Nagvis Nagvis.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-33178?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2021-33178 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-33178 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in NagVis

- [CVE-2022-46945](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-46945/): Path traversal in n/a (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2024-47093](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-47093/): Fix various XSS issues and potential RCE (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2025-39665](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-39665/): Livestatus Injection in dynmaps (medium 6.9)
- [CVE-2023-46287](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-46287/): Cross-site scripting in n/a (medium 6.1)
- [CVE-2017-6393](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-6393/): Cross-site scripting in n/a (medium 6.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-33178 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-33178 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in NagVis, published on 14 Oct 2021. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-33178 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: NagVis. 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-2021-33178/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-33178/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-33178
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-33178
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-33178

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-33178/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.