# CVE-2022-40276: Path traversal in Zettlr

> An attacker can read arbitrary local files by tricking a user into opening a malicious markdown file in Zettlr.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 3 Nov 2022
- **Updated:** 2 May 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-gq8w-3h98-m48x

## What is CVE-2022-40276?

CVE-2022-40276 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Zettlr, published on 3 Nov 2022. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Zettlr version 2.3.0 allows an external attacker to remotely obtain arbitrary local files on any client that attempts to view a malicious markdown file through Zettlr. This is possible because the application does not have a CSP policy (or at least not strict enough) and/or does not properly validate the contents of markdown files before rendering them.

Weakness: CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-40276?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Zettlr Zettlr.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-40276?

No fix has been published for CVE-2022-40276 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2022-40276 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-40276 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Zettlr

- [CVE-2021-26835](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-26835/): Cross-site scripting in n/a (medium 6.1)
- [CVE-2021-20727](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-20727/): Cross-site scripting in Zettlr (medium 6.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-40276 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-40276 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Zettlr, published on 3 Nov 2022. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-40276 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Zettlr. 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-2022-40276/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-40276/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-40276
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-40276
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-40276

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-40276/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.