CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2022-36066 — Discourse is an open source discussion platform

Critical CVSS 9.1

Discourse is an open source discussion platform. In versions prior to 2.8.9 on the `stable` branch and prior to 2.9.0.beta10 on the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches, admins can upload a maliciously crafted Zip or Gzip Tar archive to write files at arbitrary locations and trigger remote code execution. The problem is patched in version 2.8.9 on the `stable` branch and version 2.9.0.beta10 on the `beta` and `tests-passed` branches. There are no known workarounds.

Severity
Critical
CVSS
9.1 (3.1)
Published
2022-09-29
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
software/application
Weaknesses
CWE-434

Affected products

  • discourse / discourse
  • discourse / discourse / 2.9.0

Showing 2 representative product identities from 10 source matches. Confirm exact affected versions with the linked vendor and NVD evidence.

Matched remediation archetype

Path traversal, unsafe upload, and file handling

This catalog composition supplies bounded fallback guidance. Explicitly reviewed curated workflows load with the complete record below.

Check exposure

  • Trace untrusted filenames, archive entries, URLs, and path segments into read, write, include, extraction, and upload operations.
  • Identify filesystem roots, mount permissions, symbolic-link behavior, archive handling, and whether uploaded content is web-accessible or executable.
  • Review canonicalization and containment checks across supported operating systems and storage backends.

Remediate safely

  • Generate server-side storage identifiers and resolve paths beneath a fixed root using filesystem-aware containment checks.
  • Reject absolute, parent-relative, alternate-separator, device, link, and archive entries that escape the intended root.
  • Store uploads outside executable or served paths, validate type and size, and use private atomic temporary files.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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