CVE-2022-31159
Partial Path Traversal in com.amazonaws:aws-java-sdk-s3
The AWS SDK for Java enables Java developers to work with Amazon Web Services. A partial-path traversal issue exists within the downloadDirectory method in the AWS S3 TransferManager component of the AWS SDK for Java v1 prior to version 1.12.261. Applications using the SDK control the destinationDirectory argument, but S3 object keys are determined by the application that uploaded the objects. The downloadDirectory method allows the caller to pass a filesystem object in the object key but contained an issue in the validation logic for the key name. A knowledgeable actor could bypass the validation logic by including a UNIX double-dot in the bucket key. Under certain conditions, this could permit them to retrieve a directory from their S3 bucket that is one level up in the filesystem from their working directory. This issue’s scope is limited to directories whose name prefix matches the destinationDirectory. E.g. for destination directory/tmp/foo, the actor can cause a download to /tmp/foo-bar, but not /tmp/bar. If com.amazonaws.services.s3.transfer.TransferManager::downloadDirectory is used to download an untrusted buckets contents, the contents of that bucket can be written outside of the intended destination directory. Version 1.12.261 contains a patch for this issue. As a workaround, when calling com.amazonaws.services.s3.transfer.TransferManager::downloadDirectory, pass a KeyFilter that forbids S3ObjectSummary objects that getKey method return a string containing the substring .. .
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- Low
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
7.9
Partial Path Traversal in com.amazonaws:aws-java-sdk-s3
The AWS SDK for Java enables Java developers to work with Amazon Web Services. A partial-path traversal issue exists within the downloadDirectory method in the AWS S3 TransferManager component of the AWS SDK for Java v1 prior to version 1.12.261. Applications using the SDK control the destinationDirectory argument, but S3 object keys are determined by the application that uploaded the objects. The downloadDirectory method allows the caller to pass a filesystem object in the object key but contained an issue in the validation logic for the key name. A knowledgeable actor could bypass the validation logic by including a UNIX double-dot in the bucket key. Under certain conditions, this could permit them to retrieve a directory from their S3 bucket that is one level up in the filesystem from their working directory. This issue’s scope is limited to directories whose name prefix matches the destinationDirectory. E.g. for destination directory/tmp/foo, the actor can cause a download to /tmp/foo-bar, but not /tmp/bar. If com.amazonaws.services.s3.transfer.TransferManager::downloadDirectory is used to download an untrusted buckets contents, the contents of that bucket can be written outside of the intended destination directory. Version 1.12.261 contains a patch for this issue. As a workaround, when calling com.amazonaws.services.s3.transfer.TransferManager::downloadDirectory, pass a KeyFilter that forbids S3ObjectSummary objects that getKey method return a string containing the substring .. .
- Record
CVE-2022-31159- CVSS 3.1
- 7.9 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:L - Weakness
- CWE-22
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2022-6311
7.9
The AWS SDK for Java enables Java developers to work with Amazon Web Services. A partial-path traversal issue exists within the downloadDirectory method in the AWS S3 TransferManager component of the AWS SDK for Java v1 prior to version 1.12.261. Applications using the SDK control the destinationDirectory argument, but S3 object keys are determined by the application that uploaded the objects. The downloadDirectory method allows the caller to pass a filesystem object in the object key but contained an issue in the validation logic for the key name. A knowledgeable actor could bypass the validation logic by including a UNIX double-dot in the bucket key. Under certain conditions, this could permit them to retrieve a directory from their S3 bucket that is one level up in the filesystem from their working directory. This issue’s scope is limited to directories whose name prefix matches the destinationDirectory. E.g. for destination directory/tmp/foo, the actor can cause a download to /tmp/foo-bar, but not /tmp/bar. If com.amazonaws.services.s3.transfer.TransferManager::downloadDirectory is used to download an untrusted buckets contents, the contents of that bucket can be written outside of the intended destination directory. Version 1.12.261 contains a patch for this issue. As a workaround, when calling com.amazonaws.services.s3.transfer.TransferManager::downloadDirectory, pass a KeyFilter that forbids S3ObjectSummary objects that getKey method return a string containing the substring .. .
- Record
EUVD-2022-6311- CVSS 3.1
- 7.9 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:L - Updated
- 2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-c28r-hw5m-5gv3
7.9
Partial Path Traversal in com.amazonaws:aws-java-sdk-s3
Overview
A partial-path traversal issue exists within the downloadDirectory method in the AWS S3 TransferManager component of the AWS SDK for Java v1. Applications using the SDK control the destinationDirectory argument, but S3 object keys are determined by the application that uploaded the objects. The downloadDirectory method allows the caller to pass a filesystem object in the object key but contained an issue in the validation logic for the key name. A knowledgeable actor could bypass the validation logic by including a UNIX double-dot in the bucket key. Under certain conditions, this could permit them to retrieve a directory from their S3 bucket that is one level up in the filesystem from their working directory.
This issue’s scope is limited to directories whose name prefix matches the destinationDirectory. E.g. for destination directory/tmp/foo, the actor can cause a download to /tmp/foo-bar, but not /tmp/bar.
Versions of the AWS Java SDK for S3 v1 before and including v1.12.260 are affected by this issue.
Impact
If com.amazonaws.services.s3.transfer.TransferManager::downloadDirectory is used to download an untrusted buckets contents, the contents of that bucket can be written outside of the intended destination directory.
Root Cause
The com.amazonaws.services.s3.transfer.TransferManager::downloadDirectory contains a partial-path traversal vulnerability.
This is due to the guard logic in leavesRoot containing an insufficient protection against partial-path traversal.
The application controls the localBaseDirectory argument, but the key comes from the AWS bucket entry (ie. can be attacker controlled). The above bit of logic can be bypassed with the following payloads:
// The following will return 'false', although the attacker value will "leave" the `/usr/foo` directory
leavesRoot(new File("/usr/foo"), "/../foo-bar/bar")
This guard is used here which should guard against path traversal, however leavesRoot is an insufficient guard:
True Root cause
If the result of parent.getCanonicalPath() is not slash terminated it allows for partial path traversal.
Consider
"/usr/outnot".startsWith("/usr/out"). The check is bypassed althoughoutnotis not under theoutdirectory. The terminating slash may be removed in various places. On Linuxprintln(new File("/var/"))returns/var, butprintln(new File("/var", "/"))-/var/, howeverprintln(new File("/var", "/").getCanonicalPath())-/var. - @JarLob (Jaroslav Lobačevski)
Patches
Upgrade to the AWS SDK for Java >= 1.12.261, if you are on a version < 1.12.261.
Workarounds
When calling com.amazonaws.services.s3.transfer.TransferManager::downloadDirectory pass a KeyFilter that forbids S3ObjectSummary objects that getKey method return a string containing the substring .. .
References
Similar vulnerabilities:
- ESAPI (The OWASP Enterprise Security API) - https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-23457
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory, please contact AWS's Security team.
- Record
GHSA-c28r-hw5m-5gv3- CVSS 3.1
- 7.9 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:L - Weakness
- CWE-22
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
7.9
The AWS SDK for Java enables Java developers to work with Amazon Web Services. A partial-path traversal issue exists within the downloadDirectory method in the AWS S3 TransferManager component of the AWS SDK for Java v1 prior to version 1.12.261. Applications using the SDK control the destinationDirectory argument, but S3 object keys are determined by the application that uploaded the objects. The downloadDirectory method allows the caller to pass a filesystem object in the object key but contained an issue in the validation logic for the key name. A knowledgeable actor could bypass the validation logic by including a UNIX double-dot in the bucket key. Under certain conditions, this could permit them to retrieve a directory from their S3 bucket that is one level up in the filesystem from their working directory. This issue’s scope is limited to directories whose name prefix matches the destinationDirectory. E.g. for destination directory/tmp/foo, the actor can cause a download to /tmp/foo-bar, but not /tmp/bar. If com.amazonaws.services.s3.transfer.TransferManager::downloadDirectory is used to download an untrusted buckets contents, the contents of that bucket can be written outside of the intended destination directory. Version 1.12.261 contains a patch for this issue. As a workaround, when calling com.amazonaws.services.s3.transfer.TransferManager::downloadDirectory, pass a KeyFilter that forbids S3ObjectSummary objects that getKey method return a string containing the substring .. .
- Record
CVE-2022-31159- CVSS 3.1
- 7.9 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:L - CVSS 3.1
- 6.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-22
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
7.9
Partial Path Traversal in com.amazonaws:aws-java-sdk-s3
The AWS SDK for Java enables Java developers to work with Amazon Web Services. A partial-path traversal issue exists within the downloadDirectory method in the AWS S3 TransferManager component of the AWS SDK for Java v1 prior to version 1.12.261. Applications using the SDK control the destinationDirectory argument, but S3 object keys are determined by the application that uploaded the objects. The downloadDirectory method allows the caller to pass a filesystem object in the object key but contained an issue in the validation logic for the key name. A knowledgeable actor could bypass the validation logic by including a UNIX double-dot in the bucket key. Under certain conditions, this could permit them to retrieve a directory from their S3 bucket that is one level up in the filesystem from their working directory. This issue’s scope is limited to directories whose name prefix matches the destinationDirectory. E.g. for destination directory/tmp/foo, the actor can cause a download to /tmp/foo-bar, but not /tmp/bar. If com.amazonaws.services.s3.transfer.TransferManager::downloadDirectory is used to download an untrusted buckets contents, the contents of that bucket can be written outside of the intended destination directory. Version 1.12.261 contains a patch for this issue. As a workaround, when calling com.amazonaws.services.s3.transfer.TransferManager::downloadDirectory, pass a KeyFilter that forbids S3ObjectSummary objects that getKey method return a string containing the substring .. .
- Record
CVE-2022-31159- CVSS 3.1
- 7.9 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:L - Weakness
- CWE-22
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-c28r-hw5m-5gv3
7.9
Partial Path Traversal in com.amazonaws:aws-java-sdk-s3
Overview
A partial-path traversal issue exists within the downloadDirectory method in the AWS S3 TransferManager component of the AWS SDK for Java v1. Applications using the SDK control the destinationDirectory argument, but S3 object keys are determined by the application that uploaded the objects. The downloadDirectory method allows the caller to pass a filesystem object in the object key but contained an issue in the validation logic for the key name. A knowledgeable actor could bypass the validation logic by including a UNIX double-dot in the bucket key. Under certain conditions, this could permit them to retrieve a directory from their S3 bucket that is one level up in the filesystem from their working directory.
This issue’s scope is limited to directories whose name prefix matches the destinationDirectory. E.g. for destination directory/tmp/foo, the actor can cause a download to /tmp/foo-bar, but not /tmp/bar.
Versions of the AWS Java SDK for S3 v1 before and including v1.12.260 are affected by this issue.
Impact
If com.amazonaws.services.s3.transfer.TransferManager::downloadDirectory is used to download an untrusted buckets contents, the contents of that bucket can be written outside of the intended destination directory.
Root Cause
The com.amazonaws.services.s3.transfer.TransferManager::downloadDirectory contains a partial-path traversal vulnerability.
This is due to the guard logic in leavesRoot containing an insufficient protection against partial-path traversal.
The application controls the localBaseDirectory argument, but the key comes from the AWS bucket entry (ie. can be attacker controlled). The above bit of logic can be bypassed with the following payloads:
// The following will return 'false', although the attacker value will "leave" the `/usr/foo` directory
leavesRoot(new File("/usr/foo"), "/../foo-bar/bar")
This guard is used here which should guard against path traversal, however leavesRoot is an insufficient guard:
True Root cause
If the result of parent.getCanonicalPath() is not slash terminated it allows for partial path traversal.
Consider
"/usr/outnot".startsWith("/usr/out"). The check is bypassed althoughoutnotis not under theoutdirectory. The terminating slash may be removed in various places. On Linuxprintln(new File("/var/"))returns/var, butprintln(new File("/var", "/"))-/var/, howeverprintln(new File("/var", "/").getCanonicalPath())-/var. - @JarLob (Jaroslav Lobačevski)
Patches
Upgrade to the AWS SDK for Java >= 1.12.261, if you are on a version < 1.12.261.
Workarounds
When calling com.amazonaws.services.s3.transfer.TransferManager::downloadDirectory pass a KeyFilter that forbids S3ObjectSummary objects that getKey method return a string containing the substring .. .
References
Similar vulnerabilities:
- ESAPI (The OWASP Enterprise Security API) - https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-23457
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory, please contact AWS's Security team.
- Record
GHSA-c28r-hw5m-5gv3- CVSS 3.1
- 7.9 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:L - Weakness
- CWE-22
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVROOT-APP-MAVEN-CVE-2022-31159 No score
CVE-2022-31159 in io.root.com.amazonaws:aws-java-sdk-s3 - Patched by Root
Root has patched CVE-2022-31159 in the io.root.com.amazonaws:aws-java-sdk-s3 package for Root:Maven. Multiple fixed versions available.
- Record
ROOT-APP-MAVEN-CVE-2022-31159- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
com.amazonaws:aws-java-sdk-s3Maven |
before 1.12.261 | 1.12.261 |
com.amazonaws:aws-java-sdk-s3Maven |
before 1.12.261, plus listed versions 1.10.01.10.11.10.101.10.111.10.12 Show 45 moreShow less1.10.131.10.141.10.151.10.161.10.171.10.181.10.191.10.21.10.201.10.211.10.221.10.231.10.241.10.251.10.261.10.271.10.281.10.291.10.31.10.301.10.311.10.321.10.331.10.341.10.351.10.361.10.371.10.381.10.391.10.41.10.4.11.10.401.10.411.10.421.10.431.10.441.10.451.10.461.10.471.10.481.10.491.10.51.10.5.11.10.501.10.51 |
1.12.261 |
io.root.com.amazonaws:aws-java-sdk-s3Root:Maven |
before 1.12.49-root.io.1 | 1.12.49-root.io.1 |
com.amazonaws:aws-java-sdk-s3Root:Maven |
before 1.12.49-aikido.1 | 1.12.49-aikido.1 |
Public exploits
Links only. Every CVE stores no exploit code.
| Source | Link | Date |
|---|---|---|
| PoC in GitHub | shoucheng3/aws__aws-sdk-java_CVE-2022-31159_1-12-2600 | 2025-08-18 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| first indexed | CVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV, PoC in GitHub |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2022-31159 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.9) in Amazon Aws-sdk-java, published July 15, 2022. Public exploit code exists. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 1.62%, the 76th percentile. Fixed in com.amazonaws:aws-java-sdk-s3 1.12.261.
References
github.com/aws/aws-sdk-java/security/advisories/GHSA-c28r-hw5m-5gv3
github.com/aws/aws-sdk-java/commit/cb66c50c885566d9a7fce837a68dc48ddced8a9a
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-31159
github.com/advisories/GHSA-c28r-hw5m-5gv3
github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2022/31xxx/CVE-2022-31159.json
github.com/aws/aws-sdk-java
Left out here: 1,370 versions. The JSON record has them.