CVE-2023-40028
Ghost is an open source content management system. Versions prior to 5.59.1 are subject to a vulnerability which allows authenticated users to upload files that are symlinks. This can be exploited to perform an arbitrary file read of any file on the host operating system. Site administrators can check for exploitation of this issue by looking for unknown symlinks within Ghost's `content/` folder. Version 5.59.1 contains a fix for this issue. All users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.
- CVSS
- 4.9Mediumscored by the publisher (CNA)
- Exploited in the wild
- Not knownPublic exploit code; not in CISA KEV
- EPSS
- 65.7%chance of exploitation in the next 30 daystop 0.8% of scored CVEsFIRST score of 11 Nov 2026
- Fix
- Patch availablesee the advisories in the references
- Published
- 15 Aug 2023analysed here 12 Nov 2026
Summary
Triage
- Attack surface
- Server-side
- Exploitable
- At runtime
- Attack vector
- network
- Can a WAF block it?
- Yes. See why
The summary, impact and action text on this page are written by our AI analysis pipeline, or taken from the NVD description when a CVE was imported from NVD. They are not the vendor's wording: check them against the sources. A longer AI executive summary and technical analysis are generated for signed-in accounts on the Max plan.
Affected products
| Product | Affected versions | Vendor says fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| TryGhost Ghost | < 5.59.1Vendor says fixed in: not stated |
As published in the CVE Program record. A version outside these ranges is not a statement that it is unaffected — vendors sometimes understate a range, and distribution-backported builds carry upstream numbers that do not reflect what was patched into them.
Products named in our analysis
- ghost:ghost
Fix and mitigation
WAF and other mitigations
Can a WAF block it? Yes. Path traversal sends `../` sequences in the request, which WAF rules catch, including the common encodings.
Also consider: canonical path validation
Based on the weakness type only; no CVE-specific evidence yet. We check Cloudflare, AWS, Google Cloud Armor and Azure; for Akamai, Imperva, Fastly, F5, ask your vendor.
Remediation steps (AI-written)
Step-by-step remediation is generated for accounts on the Max plan, for CVEs that match a technology in their stack. Add this technology to your stack to see the fix checklist.
Exploitation evidence
- CISA KEV catalog
- Not listed as of our last sync.
- Public exploit code
- Yes: 1 on Exploit-DB · 10 GitHub proofs of concept
- CISA SSVC
- exploitation none, automatable no, technical impact partialAssessed by CISA 2 Oct 2024 (SSVC 2.0.3). Exploitation is none, poc (public proof of concept) or active.
Exploit-DB
- Ghost CMS 5.59.1 - Arbitrary File Readwebapps, 11 Aug 2025
GitHub proofs of concept
- 0xyassine/CVE-2023-4002815 stars
- 0xDTC/Ghost-5.58-Arbitrary-File-Read-CVE-2023-4002813 stars
- monke443/CVE-2023-400285 stars
- rvzsec/CVE-2023-400283 stars
and 6 more repositories
Listed so you can judge urgency, not as a recommendation to run anything. GitHub “proofs of concept” are unvetted: some are fake or carry malware. Exploit-DB marks the entries its staff verified.
Timeline
- 15 Aug 2023Published
- 23 Mar 2024First public exploit or proof of concept220 days (about 7 months) later
- 2 Oct 2024CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation none194 days (about 6 months) later
- 2 Oct 2024CVE record last updatedsame day later
- 12 Nov 2026Analysed by vulneraibility.com771 days (about 2 years) later
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
| Metric | Value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Attack vector | NetworkReachable over the internet or any routable network. | Reachable over the internet or any routable network. |
| Attack complexity | LowRepeatable attack, no special conditions. | Repeatable attack, no special conditions. |
| Privileges required | HighThe attacker needs admin-level privileges. | The attacker needs admin-level privileges. |
| User interaction | NoneNo victim action needed. | No victim action needed. |
| Scope | UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component. | Impact stays within the vulnerable component. |
| Confidentiality | HighTotal data disclosure possible. | Total data disclosure possible. |
| Integrity | NoneNo unauthorised modification. | No unauthorised modification. |
| Availability | NoneThe service stays up. | The service stays up. |
Common questions
Is CVE-2023-40028 being exploited?
Not confirmed. CVE-2023-40028 does not appear in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which records only exploitation that has been observed and reported publicly. That is evidence of absence of a report, not evidence the flaw is unattacked. EPSS currently estimates a 66% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How severe is CVE-2023-40028?
CVE-2023-40028 is rated Medium with a CVSS score of 4.9. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.
Is there a patch for CVE-2023-40028?
Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2023-40028. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.
What does CVE-2023-40028 affect?
CVE-2023-40028 affects ghost:ghost. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
References
2 references in the CVE record, grouped by the tags the record gives them.
Other links (2)
- github.com /TryGhost/Ghost/security/advisories/GHSA-9c9v-w225-v5rg
- github.com /TryGhost/Ghost/commit/690fbf3f7302ff3f77159c0795928bdd20f41205
Where the data on this page comes from
- CVE List (CVE.org): description, affected versions, references; CVE Terms of Use
- NVD: CVSS and CPE data
- CISA Vulnrichment (ADP): SSVC decision points
- FIRST EPSS: exploit probability and percentile
- Exploit-DB: published exploits
- PoC-in-GitHub: GitHub repositories that claim a proof of concept
Summary, impact and triage tags: written by our AI analysis pipeline from the sources above. Check them against the sources.
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