# CVE-2021-43800: Asset directory traversal with some storage modules on Windows

> Attackers can read arbitrary files on Windows hosts via directory traversal in Wiki.js when specific storage modules are enabled.

- **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:** 6 Dec 2021
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-r363-73gj-6j25

## What is CVE-2021-43800?

CVE-2021-43800 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Requarks wiki, published on 6 Dec 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Wiki.js is a wiki app built on Node.js. Prior to version 2.5.254, directory traversal outside of Wiki.js context is possible when a storage module with local asset cache fetching is enabled on a Windows host. 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 on a Wiki.js server running on Windows, 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 number 414033de9dff66a327e3f3243234852f468a9d85 fixes this vulnerability by sanitizing the path before it is passed on to the storage module. The sanitization step removes any windows directory traversal sequences from the path. As a workaround, disable any storage module with local asset caching capabilities (Local File System, Git).

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-43800?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Requarks Wiki.js.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-43800?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-43800 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-43800 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-43800 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-2020-15236](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-15236/): Directory Traversal in Wiki.js (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)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-43800 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-43800 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Requarks wiki, published on 6 Dec 2021. 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-2021-43800 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-2021-43800/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-43800/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-43800
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-43800
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-43800

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-43800/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.