CVE-2023-40028

MEDIUM

Ghost < 5.59.1 - Authenticated Arbitrary File Read via Symlink Upload

Title source: llm
STIX 2.1

Exploitation Summary

EIP tracks 12 public exploits for CVE-2023-40028. PoCs published by İbrahimsql, 0xyassine, 0xDTC.

AI-analyzed exploit summary This exploit leverages a symlink traversal vulnerability in Ghost CMS versions prior to 5.59.1, allowing authenticated users to upload a crafted ZIP file containing a symlink to arbitrary files on the host system, enabling arbitrary file read.

Description

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.

Exploits (12)

exploitdb WORKING POC
by İbrahimsql · pythonwebappsmultiple
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/52409

This exploit leverages a symlink traversal vulnerability in Ghost CMS versions prior to 5.59.1, allowing authenticated users to upload a crafted ZIP file containing a symlink to arbitrary files on the host system, enabling arbitrary file read.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Ghost CMS < 5.59.1
Auth required
Prerequisites: Valid Ghost CMS admin credentials · Access to the Ghost CMS admin panel
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 13 stars
by 0xyassine · poc
https://github.com/0xyassine/CVE-2023-40028

This repository contains a functional exploit for CVE-2023-40028, which allows authenticated users to upload symlinks in Ghost CMS versions before 5.59.1, leading to arbitrary file read vulnerabilities. The exploit automates the process of creating a symlink, uploading it via the Ghost API, and retrieving the targeted file.

Classification
Working Poc 100%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Ghost CMS < 5.59.1
Auth required
Prerequisites: Authenticated user credentials · Access to vulnerable Ghost CMS instance
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 12 stars
by 0xDTC · poc
https://github.com/0xDTC/Ghost-5.58-Arbitrary-File-Read-CVE-2023-40028

This repository contains a functional exploit for CVE-2023-40028, an arbitrary file read vulnerability in Ghost CMS 5.58. The exploit automates login, crafts a malicious ZIP payload with a symlink, and leverages the Ghost CMS import functionality to read sensitive files.

Classification
Working Poc 90%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Ghost CMS 5.58
Auth required
Prerequisites: Admin credentials for Ghost CMS · Access to the target Ghost CMS instance · curl and zip utilities installed on the attacker's system
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 4 stars
by monke443 · poc
https://github.com/monke443/CVE-2023-40028

This repository contains a functional exploit for CVE-2023-40028, an arbitrary file read vulnerability in Ghost CMS versions < 5.59.1. The exploit leverages symlink functionality within a ZIP file to bypass import restrictions and read sensitive files from the server.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Ghost CMS < 5.59.1
Auth required
Prerequisites: Valid Ghost CMS credentials · Access to the Ghost CMS admin API
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 3 stars
by rvzsec · poc
https://github.com/rvzsec/CVE-2023-40028

This repository contains a functional exploit for CVE-2023-40028, a symlink upload vulnerability in Ghost CMS leading to arbitrary file read. The exploit authenticates with the target, uploads a symlink disguised as an image, and reads the content of arbitrary files on the server.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Ghost CMS versions prior to 5.59.1
Auth required
Prerequisites: valid Ghost CMS credentials · network access to the target Ghost CMS instance
devstral-2 · analyzed Jun 01, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 3 stars
by rvizx · poc
https://github.com/rvizx/CVE-2023-40028

This repository contains a functional exploit for CVE-2023-40028, a symlink upload vulnerability in Ghost CMS leading to arbitrary file read. The exploit authenticates with the target, uploads a symlink via a crafted ZIP file, and retrieves the content of sensitive files.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Ghost CMS versions prior to 5.59.1
Auth required
Prerequisites: Valid Ghost CMS credentials · Network access to the target Ghost CMS instance
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 2 stars
by godylockz · poc
https://github.com/godylockz/CVE-2023-40028

This repository contains a functional Python exploit for CVE-2023-40028, which allows authenticated users to upload symlinks in Ghost CMS (versions < 5.59.1) to achieve arbitrary file read. The exploit automates the process of creating a malicious ZIP archive with a symlink, uploading it, and retrieving the targeted file contents.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Ghost CMS < 5.59.1
Auth required
Prerequisites: Valid admin credentials or session cookie · Network access to the Ghost CMS admin interface
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 1 stars
by Stp1t · poc
https://github.com/Stp1t/CVE-2023-40028

This exploit leverages a path traversal vulnerability in Ghost CMS's zip file upload functionality to read arbitrary files on the server. It authenticates as an admin, uploads a malicious zip file with a crafted path, and retrieves the target file's contents.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Ghost CMS (version not specified)
Auth required
Prerequisites: Valid admin credentials · Access to the Ghost CMS admin panel
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 19, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by buutt3rf1y · poc
https://github.com/buutt3rf1y/CVE-2023-40028

This repository contains a functional exploit for CVE-2023-40028, which allows authenticated users to perform arbitrary file reads in Ghost CMS versions prior to 5.59.1 by uploading symlinks disguised as images. The exploit automates the process of creating a symlink, packaging it into a ZIP file, uploading it via the Ghost API, and retrieving the target file's contents.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Ghost CMS < 5.59.1
Auth required
Prerequisites: Valid Ghost CMS credentials · Access to the Ghost admin API · Ability to upload files via the API
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by syogod · poc
https://github.com/syogod/CVE-2023-40028

This repository contains a functional PoC exploit for CVE-2023-40028, demonstrating how an authenticated attacker can upload a symlink via a crafted ZIP file to achieve Local File Inclusion (LFI) in Ghost CMS versions prior to 5.59.1. The exploit automates the process of creating a symlink, uploading it, and retrieving the contents of a target file (e.g., /etc/passwd).

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Ghost CMS < 5.59.1
Auth required
Prerequisites: Authenticated admin access to Ghost CMS · Python 3.x with 'requests' library · Target running Ghost CMS < 5.59.1
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by rehan6658 · poc
https://github.com/rehan6658/CVE-2023-40028

This repository contains a functional exploit for CVE-2023-40028, which leverages symbolic link abuse in Ghost CMS to achieve arbitrary file read. The exploit automates the creation of a symlink, compression into a ZIP file, and upload via the Ghost API to read files through an accessible image URL.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Ghost CMS (version not specified, likely pre-patch for CVE-2023-40028)
Auth required
Prerequisites: Valid Ghost CMS credentials · Network access to the Ghost CMS admin API · Ability to upload files via the API
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by sudlit · poc
https://github.com/sudlit/CVE-2023-40028

This repository contains a functional Python exploit for CVE-2023-40028, which leverages improper file handling in Ghost CMS to achieve arbitrary file reads via symlink manipulation and ZIP uploads. The PoC authenticates with the target, uploads a crafted ZIP containing a symlink, and retrieves the linked file's contents.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Ghost CMS (versions prior to fix)
Auth required
Prerequisites: Valid Ghost CMS credentials · Network access to the Ghost CMS admin interface
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →

Scores

CVSS v3 4.9
EPSS 0.7761
EPSS Percentile 99.0%
Attack Vector NETWORK
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

CISA SSVC

Vulnrichment
Exploitation none
Automatable no
Technical Impact partial

Details

CWE
CWE-22 CWE-59
Status published
Products (2)
ghost/ghost < 5.59.1
npm/ghost 0 - 5.59.1npm
Published Aug 15, 2023
Tracked Since Feb 18, 2026