CWE-552: Files or Directories Accessible to External Parties

The product makes files or directories accessible to unauthorized actors, even though they should not be.

Web servers, FTP servers, and similar servers may store a set of files underneath a "root" directory that is accessible to the server's users. Applications may store sensitive files underneath this root without also using access control to limit which users may request those files, if any. Alternately, an application might package multiple files or directories into an archive file (e.g., ZIP or tar), but the application might not exclude sensitive files that are underneath those directories. In cloud technologies and containers, this weakness might present itself in the form of misconfigured storage accounts that can be read or written by a public or anonymous user.

Consequences

• Confidentiality, Integrity: Read Files or Directories, Modify Files or Directories

How to prevent it

• Implementation, System Configuration, Operation: When storing data in the cloud (e.g., S3 buckets, Azure blobs, Google Cloud Storage, etc.), use the provider's controls to disable public access.

Recent advisories

• CVE-2026-21589 — This is a vulnerability in Bitbucket Data Center, Confluence Data Center, Jira Service Management Data Center, Jira Software Data Center, Bamboo Data Center.
• GHSA-6cr4-ccf3-x7h4 — MCP Atlassian: Arbitrary file read via confluence_upload_attachment allows exfiltration of server credentials
• GHSA-4wwp-f6gw-6qm5 — SiYuan: TLS Private Keys Readable via getFile (Incomplete Blocklist)
• GHSA-gxcp-jjxh-rwp4 — Grafana: SQL Expressions Read File From Disk
• GHSA-p58c-q354-6c4f — pgAdmin 4 contains local file inclusion (LFI) and server-side request forgery (SSRF) vulnerabilities
• GHSA-57gh-m6rq-54cf — OpenClaw: Self-Whitelisting in appendLocalMediaParentRoots Allows Arbitrary File Read & Credential Exfiltration
• GHSA-h2jq-g4cq-5ppq — Rack::Static prefix matching can expose unintended files under the static root
• GHSA-m273-6v24-x4m4 — Picklescan vulnerable to Arbitrary File Writing
• GHSA-hfv2-pf68-m33x — Umbraco Vulnerable to Improper File Access and Credential Exposure in Dictionary Import Functionality
• CVE-2025-11371 — In the default installation and configuration of Gladinet CentreStack and TrioFox, there is an unauthenticated Local File Inclusion Flaw that allows unintended…
• GHSA-5fx5-cff6-f3fp — Liferay Portal Unauthenticated File Access via URL
• GHSA-wj44-9vcg-wjq7 — Gogs allows deletion of internal files which leads to remote command execution
• CVE-2025-48928 — The TeleMessage service through 2025-05-05 is based on a JSP application in which the heap content is roughly equivalent to a "core dump" in which a password…
• GHSA-4hmr-39vp-xfrr — Moodle has an arbitrary file read risk through pdfTeX
• GHSA-8fx8-pffw-w498 — SiYuan has an arbitrary file deletion vulnerability

All advisories for CWE-552