# CVE-2023-45283: Insecure parsing of Windows paths with a \??\ prefix in path/filepath

> The Go filepath package mishandles Windows paths with a \??\ prefix, allowing attackers to bypass path restrictions and access arbitrary system locations.

- **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:** Yes
- **Published:** 9 Nov 2023
- **Updated:** 13 Feb 2025
- **Also known as:** AZL-31897, AZL-37397, AZL-37444, AZL-79034, AZL-98664, BIT-golang-2023-45283, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-45283, GHSA-vvjp-q62m-2vph, GO-2023-2185, MINI-wg6j-66xc-5pxw, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-45283, openSUSE-SU-2024:13406-1, openSUSE-SU-2024:13407-1

## What is CVE-2023-45283?

CVE-2023-45283 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Golang Go, published on 9 Nov 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The filepath package does not recognize paths with a \??\ prefix as special. On Windows, a path beginning with \??\ is a Root Local Device path equivalent to a path beginning with \\?\. Paths with a \??\ prefix may be used to access arbitrary locations on the system. For example, the path \??\c:\x is equivalent to the more common path c:\x. Before fix, Clean could convert a rooted path such as \a\..\??\b into the root local device path \??\b. Clean will now convert this to .\??\b. Similarly, Join(\, ??, b) could convert a seemingly innocent sequence of path elements into the root local device path \??\b. Join will now convert this to \.\??\b. In addition, with fix, IsAbs now correctly reports paths beginning with \??\ as absolute, and VolumeName correctly reports the \??\ prefix as a volume name. UPDATE: Go 1.20.11 and Go 1.21.4 inadvertently changed the definition of the volume name in Windows paths starting with \?, resulting in filepath.Clean(\?\c:) returning \?\c: rather than \?\c:\ (among other effects). The previous behavior has been restored.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-45283?

3 open source packages ship an affected version, including golang and stdlib. It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `golang` | Bitnami | All versions | 1.20.11, 1.21.4 |
| `stdlib` | Go | All versions | 1.20.11, 1.21.4 |
| `stdlib` | Go | From 1.20.11 | 1.20.12, 1.21.5 |
| `go1.20` | openSUSE:Tumbleweed | All versions | 1.20.11-1.1 |
| `go1.21` | openSUSE:Tumbleweed | All versions | 1.21.4-1.1 |

Products: Golang Go.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-45283?

Upgrade golang to a fixed version for your release line: 1.20.11 or 1.21.4.

## Is CVE-2023-45283 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-45283 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Golang Go

- [CVE-2020-0601](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-0601/): Microsoft Windows CryptoAPI Spoofing (high 8.1, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-27143](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-27143/): Missing bound checks can lead to memory corruption in safe Go in cmd/compile (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2024-24790](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-24790/): Unexpected behavior from Is methods for IPv4-mapped IPv6 addresses in net/netip (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2023-39320](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-39320/): Arbitrary code execution via go.mod toolchain directive in cmd/go (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2023-24540](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-24540/): Improper handling of JavaScript whitespace in html/template (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-45283 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-45283 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Golang Go, published on 9 Nov 2023. 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-2023-45283 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- golang (Bitnami): affected all versions; fixed in 1.20.11, 1.21.4
- stdlib (Go): affected all versions; fixed in 1.20.11, 1.21.4
- stdlib (Go): affected from 1.20.11; fixed in 1.20.12, 1.21.5

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-2023-45283/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-45283/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-45283
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-45283
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-45283

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-45283/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.