# CVE-2021-43264: Path traversal in n/a

> Attackers can bypass access controls and read HTML files via directory traversal in Mahara e-portfolio system.

- **Severity:** Low 3.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 2 Nov 2021
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-87xh-f8rh-5hgq

## What is CVE-2021-43264?

CVE-2021-43264 is a low-severity path traversal vulnerability in Mahara Mahara, published on 2 Nov 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In Mahara before 20.04.5, 20.10.3, 21.04.2, and 21.10.0, adjusting the path component for the page help file allows attackers to bypass the intended access control for HTML files via directory traversal. It replaces the - character with the / character.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-43264?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Mahara Mahara.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-43264?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-43264 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-43264 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-43264 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Mahara Mahara

- [CVE-2022-45134](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-45134/): Deserialization in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2022-44544](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-44544/): Command injection in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-40849](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-40849/): Auth bypass in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-1000152](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-1000152/): Auth bypass in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-1000153](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-1000153/): Auth bypass in n/a (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-43264 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-43264 is a low-severity path traversal vulnerability in Mahara Mahara, published on 2 Nov 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-43264 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Mahara Mahara. 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-2021-43264/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-43264/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-43264
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-43264
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-43264

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-43264/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.