# CVE-2021-45448: Path traversal in Pentaho Business Analytics Server

> Attackers can access arbitrary files outside the restricted directory via a user-supplied path in the Pentaho Analyzer plugin.

- **Severity:** High 7.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 2 Nov 2022
- **Updated:** 2 May 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-6rjj-325g-5j42

## What is CVE-2021-45448?

CVE-2021-45448 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Hitachi Vantara Pentaho Business Analytics Server, published on 2 Nov 2022. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Pentaho Business Analytics
 Server versions before 9.2.0.2 and 8.3.0.25 using the Pentaho 
Analyzer plugin exposes a service endpoint for templates which allows a 
user-supplied path to access resources that are out of bounds. 

The software uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or 
directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the software does not 
properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to 
resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory.  By using special elements such as 
".." and "/" separators, attackers can escape outside of the restricted 
location to access files or directories that are elsewhere on the 
system.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-45448?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Hitachi Vantara Pentaho.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-45448?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-45448 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-45448 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-45448 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Hitachi Vantara Pentaho Business Analytics Server

- [CVE-2021-34684](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-34684/): SQL injection in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-31599](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-31599/): Code injection in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2022-4815](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-4815/): Hitachi Vantara Pentaho Business Analytics Server - Deserialization of Untrusted Data (high 8.0)
- [CVE-2021-45447](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-45447/): Information disclosure in Pentaho Business Analytics Server (high 7.7)
- [CVE-2021-31601](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-31601/): Information disclosure in n/a (high 7.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-45448 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-45448 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Hitachi Vantara Pentaho Business Analytics Server, published on 2 Nov 2022. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-45448 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Hitachi Vantara Pentaho Business Analytics Server. 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-2021-45448/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-45448/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-45448
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-45448
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-45448

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-45448/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.