# CVE-2023-49294: Asterisk Path Traversal vulnerability

> Attackers can read arbitrary files on Asterisk servers, potentially exposing sensitive data, regardless of the live_dangerously configuration setting.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.9 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 14 Dec 2023
- **Updated:** 13 Feb 2025
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2023-49294, CVE-2024-49215, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-49294, GHSA-8857-hfmw-vg8f, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-49294

## What is CVE-2023-49294?

CVE-2023-49294 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Digium Asterisk, published on 14 Dec 2023. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Asterisk is an open source private branch exchange and telephony toolkit. In Asterisk prior to versions 18.20.1, 20.5.1, and 21.0.1, as well as certified-asterisk prior to 18.9-cert6, it is possible to read any arbitrary file even when the `live_dangerously` is not enabled. This allows arbitrary files to be read. Asterisk versions 18.20.1, 20.5.1, and 21.0.1, as well as certified-asterisk prior to 18.9-cert6, contain a fix for this issue.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-49294?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Digium Asterisk, Sangoma Certified Asterisk.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-49294?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2023-49294 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-49294 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Digium Asterisk

- [CVE-2017-14100](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-14100/): Command injection in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2014-8418](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-8418/): Privilege escalation in n/a (critical 9.0)
- [CVE-2011-1599](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-1599/): Missing authorization in n/a (critical 9.0)
- [CVE-2017-16671](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-16671/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2017-7617](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-7617/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 8.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-49294 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-49294 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Digium Asterisk, published on 14 Dec 2023. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-49294 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Digium Asterisk. 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-2023-49294/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-49294/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-49294
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-49294
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-49294

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-49294/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.