← Vulnerability feed

Vulnerability record · CVE-2023-36460 · published 6 July 2023

CVE-2023-36460: Joinmastodon mastodon path traversal vulnerability

Joinmastodon · Mastodon

Mastodon is a free, open-source social network server based on ActivityPub. Starting in version 3.5.0 and prior to versions 3.5.9, 4.0.5, and 4.1.3, attackers using carefully crafted media files can cause Mastodon's media processing code to create arbitrary files at any location. This allows attackers to create and overwrite any file Mastodon has access to, allowing Denial of Service and arbitrary Remote Code Execution. Versions 3.5.9, 4.0.5, and 4.1.3 contain a patch for this issue.

9.9 CVSS 3.1 Critical EPSS 40% · top 1.4% CWE-22 · Path traversal
9.9CVSS 3.1 base score
40%EPSS exploitation probability, 30 days
NoNot in CISA KEV
1Affected product versions listed by NVD
12References
17 Jun 2026Last modified by NVD

Description

Mastodon is a free, open-source social network server based on ActivityPub. Starting in version 3.5.0 and prior to versions 3.5.9, 4.0.5, and 4.1.3, attackers using carefully crafted media files can cause Mastodon's media processing code to create arbitrary files at any location. This allows attackers to create and overwrite any file Mastodon has access to, allowing Denial of Service and arbitrary Remote Code Execution. Versions 3.5.9, 4.0.5, and 4.1.3 contain a patch for this issue.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected products

1 vulnerable configurations from NVD's CPE data, grouped by vendor and product.

References

LinkTags
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/07/06/4 Mailing List
https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/commit/dc8f1fbd976ae544720a4e07120d9a91b2722440 PatchThird Party Advisory
https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/releases/tag/v3.5.9 Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/releases/tag/v4.0.5 Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/releases/tag/v4.1.3 Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/security/advisories/GHSA-9928-3cp5-93fm Third Party Advisory
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/07/06/4 Mailing List
https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/commit/dc8f1fbd976ae544720a4e07120d9a91b2722440 PatchThird Party Advisory
https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/releases/tag/v3.5.9 Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/releases/tag/v4.0.5 Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/releases/tag/v4.1.3 Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/security/advisories/GHSA-9928-3cp5-93fm Third Party Advisory

Track CVE-2023-36460 inside VULONE

Watch it alongside the ransomware crews, C2 infrastructure and forum chatter that reference it, query it through the API and pull it into your SIEM over TAXII.

Start free Open in platform

Related vulnerabilities

Same products first, then exploited flaws of the same weakness class.

9.8CVE-2024-23832Joinmastodon mastodon authentication bypass by spoofing vulnerabilityMastodon is a free, open-source social network server based on ActivityPub Mastodon allows configuration of LDAP for authentication. Due to insuffici…EPSS 2.5%9.8CVE-2022-2166Joinmastodon mastodon improper restriction of authentication attempts vulnerabilityImproper Restriction of Excessive Authentication Attempts in GitHub repository mastodon/mastodon prior to 4.0.0.EPSS 1.1%9.8CVE-2022-24307Joinmastodon mastodon incorrect authorization vulnerabilityMastodon before 3.3.2 and 3.4.x before 3.4.6 has incorrect access control because it does not compact incoming signed JSON-LD activities. (JSON-LD si…EPSS 1.4%9.8CVE-2018-21018Joinmastodon mastodon insufficient session expiration vulnerabilityMastodon before 2.6.3 mishandles timeouts of incompletely established sessions.EPSS 2.6%8.2CVE-2026-41259Joinmastodon mastodon vulnerabilityMastodon is a free, open-source social network server based on ActivityPub. Prior to v4.5.9, v4.4.16, and v4.3.22, Mastodon allows restricting new us…EPSS 0.37%8.2CVE-2024-37903Joinmastodon mastodon missing authorization vulnerabilityMastodon is a self-hosted, federated microblogging platform. Starting in version 2.6.0 and prior to versions 4.1.18 and 4.2.10, by crafting specific …EPSS 0.53%7.7CVE-2024-25623Joinmastodon mastodon unrestricted file upload vulnerabilityMastodon is a free, open-source social network server based on ActivityPub. Prior to versions 4.2.7, 4.1.15, 4.0.15, and 3.5.19, when fetching remote…EPSS 0.51%7.5CVE-2026-23962Joinmastodon mastodon allocation without limits vulnerabilityMastodon is a free, open-source social network server based on ActivityPub. Mastodon versions before v4.3.18, v4.4.12, and v4.5.5 do not have a limit…EPSS 0.55%

Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database (record CVE-2023-36460), CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS (scores of 2026-09-27). This page is refreshed as NVD updates the record.