# CVE-2022-38205: Portal for ArcGIS has a directory traversal vulnerability (10.9.1, 10.8.1 and 10.7.1 only)

> Remote unauthenticated attackers can traverse the file system to disclose sensitive data in non-default Esri Portal for ArcGIS installations.

- **Severity:** High 8.6 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/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:** 30 Dec 2022
- **Updated:** 10 Apr 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-66j6-p8c8-v9h3

## What is CVE-2022-38205?

CVE-2022-38205 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Esri Portal for Arcgis, published on 30 Dec 2022. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In some non-default installations of Esri Portal for ArcGIS versions 10.9.1 and below, a directory traversal issue may allow a remote, unauthenticated attacker to traverse the file system and lead to the disclosure of sensitive data (not customer-published content).

Weakness: CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory), CWE-23 (Relative Path Traversal)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-38205?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Esri Portal for Arcgis.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-38205?

No fix has been published for CVE-2022-38205 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2022-38205 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-38205 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Esri Portal for Arcgis

- [CVE-2024-25693](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-25693/): Portal for ArcGIS has a directory traversal vulnerability. (critical 9.9)
- [CVE-2026-13019](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-13019/): Missing Authentication (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2026-33518](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-33518/): Incorrect privilege assignment in Portal for ArcGIS (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2026-33519](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-33519/): Incorrect privilege assignment in Portal for ArcGIS (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2025-2538](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-2538/): BUG-000174336 (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-38205 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-38205 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Esri Portal for Arcgis, published on 30 Dec 2022. 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-2022-38205 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Esri Portal for Arcgis. 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-2022-38205/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-38205/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-38205
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-38205
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-38205

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-38205/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.