CVE-2022-36065
GrowthBook account creation and file upload vulnerability in self-hosted configurations
GrowthBook is an open-source platform for feature flagging and A/B testing. With some self-hosted configurations in versions prior to 2022-08-29, attackers can register new accounts and upload files to arbitrary directories within the container. If the attacker uploads a Python script to the right location, they can execute arbitrary code within the container. To be affected, ALL of the following must be true: Self-hosted deployment (GrowthBook Cloud is unaffected); using local file uploads (as opposed to S3 or Google Cloud Storage); NODE_ENV set to a non-production value and JWT_SECRET set to an easily guessable string like dev. This issue is patched in commit 1a5edff8786d141161bf880c2fd9ccbe2850a264 (2022-08-29). As a workaround, set JWT_SECRET environment variable to a long random string. This will stop arbitrary file uploads, but the only way to stop attackers from registering accounts is by updating to the latest build.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
7.5
GrowthBook account creation and file upload vulnerability in self-hosted configurations
GrowthBook is an open-source platform for feature flagging and A/B testing. With some self-hosted configurations in versions prior to 2022-08-29, attackers can register new accounts and upload files to arbitrary directories within the container. If the attacker uploads a Python script to the right location, they can execute arbitrary code within the container. To be affected, ALL of the following must be true: Self-hosted deployment (GrowthBook Cloud is unaffected); using local file uploads (as opposed to S3 or Google Cloud Storage); NODE_ENV set to a non-production value and JWT_SECRET set to an easily guessable string like dev. This issue is patched in commit 1a5edff8786d141161bf880c2fd9ccbe2850a264 (2022-08-29). As a workaround, set JWT_SECRET environment variable to a long random string. This will stop arbitrary file uploads, but the only way to stop attackers from registering accounts is by updating to the latest build.
- Record
CVE-2022-36065- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-24, CWE-22
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2022-38827
7.5
GrowthBook is an open-source platform for feature flagging and A/B testing. With some self-hosted configurations in versions prior to 2022-08-29, attackers can register new accounts and upload files to arbitrary directories within the container. If the attacker uploads a Python script to the right location, they can execute arbitrary code within the container. To be affected, ALL of the following must be true: Self-hosted deployment (GrowthBook Cloud is unaffected); using local file uploads (as opposed to S3 or Google Cloud Storage); NODE_ENV set to a non-production value and JWT_SECRET set to an easily guessable string like dev. This issue is patched in commit 1a5edff8786d141161bf880c2fd9ccbe2850a264 (2022-08-29). As a workaround, set JWT_SECRET environment variable to a long random string. This will stop arbitrary file uploads, but the only way to stop attackers from registering accounts is by updating to the latest build.
- Record
EUVD-2022-38827- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
7.5
GrowthBook is an open-source platform for feature flagging and A/B testing. With some self-hosted configurations in versions prior to 2022-08-29, attackers can register new accounts and upload files to arbitrary directories within the container. If the attacker uploads a Python script to the right location, they can execute arbitrary code within the container. To be affected, ALL of the following must be true: Self-hosted deployment (GrowthBook Cloud is unaffected); using local file uploads (as opposed to S3 or Google Cloud Storage); NODE_ENV set to a non-production value and JWT_SECRET set to an easily guessable string like dev. This issue is patched in commit 1a5edff8786d141161bf880c2fd9ccbe2850a264 (2022-08-29). As a workaround, set JWT_SECRET environment variable to a long random string. This will stop arbitrary file uploads, but the only way to stop attackers from registering accounts is by updating to the latest build.
- Record
CVE-2022-36065- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-22, CWE-24
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
7.5
GrowthBook account creation and file upload vulnerability in self-hosted configurations
GrowthBook is an open-source platform for feature flagging and A/B testing. With some self-hosted configurations in versions prior to 2022-08-29, attackers can register new accounts and upload files to arbitrary directories within the container. If the attacker uploads a Python script to the right location, they can execute arbitrary code within the container. To be affected, ALL of the following must be true: Self-hosted deployment (GrowthBook Cloud is unaffected); using local file uploads (as opposed to S3 or Google Cloud Storage); NODE_ENV set to a non-production value and JWT_SECRET set to an easily guessable string like dev. This issue is patched in commit 1a5edff8786d141161bf880c2fd9ccbe2850a264 (2022-08-29). As a workaround, set JWT_SECRET environment variable to a long random string. This will stop arbitrary file uploads, but the only way to stop attackers from registering accounts is by updating to the latest build.
- Record
CVE-2022-36065- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-22, CWE-24
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| first indexed | CVE List, EUVD, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2022-36065 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.5) in Growthbook, published September 6, 2022. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 1.46%, the 73rd percentile. No source names a fixed version.
References
github.com/growthbook/growthbook/security/advisories/GHSA-j24q-55xh-wm4r
github.com/growthbook/growthbook/pull/487
github.com/growthbook/growthbook/commit/1a5edff8786d141161bf880c2fd9ccbe2850a264
github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2022/36xxx/CVE-2022-36065.json
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-36065