CVE-2023-40028

MEDIUMNVD 4.94.9—
EchelonGraph scoreMEDIUM confidence

This medium-severity CVE scores 4.9 under NVD CVSS v3. EPSS exploit probability: 57.6%, top 1% of all CVEs by exploit prediction. GitHub Security Advisory data not yet ingested — confidence will rise once GHSA publishes (typical lag: hours to days for open-source ecosystem CVEs; never for infrastructure-only CVEs).

Triggered by: NVD CVSS baseline
Sources: epss, nvd
Elevated
4.9
EchelonGraph verdictPatch this weekExploitation is likely or a public exploit exists.
  • High exploitation likelihood — EPSS 58%
CISA-KEV: Not listedEPSS: 58%CVSS: 4.9Exploit: NoneExposed: 0

No vendor fix yet — apply a workaround or compensating control (WAF / firewall / segmentation) and watch for a patch.

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 v3
4.9
EG Score
4.9(medium)
EG Risk
—
EPSS
99.0%
KEV
Not listed

Published

August 15, 2023

Last Modified

November 21, 2024

References (4)

Affected Packages

(1 across 1 ecosystem)
npm(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFixed inDependents
ghost—5.59.1—

Weakness Classification(2)

MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 9× in last 7d / 38× in last 30d)

Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.

  1. 2026-07-22 23:12 UTCEG score recompute
  2. 2026-07-22 14:06 UTCEPSS rescore
  3. 2026-07-21 15:23 UTCEPSS rescore
  4. 2026-07-21 15:23 UTCEPSS rescore
  5. 2026-07-20 17:06 UTCEPSS rescore
  6. 2026-07-19 14:29 UTCEPSS rescore
  7. 2026-07-19 02:27 UTCEPSS rescore
  8. 2026-07-16 17:01 UTCEPSS rescore
  9. 2026-07-16 17:01 UTCEPSS rescore
  10. 2026-07-15 16:56 UTCEPSS rescore
  11. 2026-07-15 16:56 UTCEPSS rescore
  12. 2026-07-15 12:49 UTCOSV refresh
  13. 2026-07-15 01:58 UTCEPSS rescore
  14. 2026-07-13 22:28 UTCEPSS rescore
  15. 2026-07-13 22:28 UTCEPSS rescore
  16. 2026-07-13 06:11 UTCEPSS rescore
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  18. 2026-07-12 05:45 UTCEPSS rescore
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  20. 2026-07-11 08:26 UTCEPSS rescore
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  22. 2026-07-08 15:13 UTCEPSS rescore
  23. 2026-07-06 02:22 UTCEPSS rescore
  24. 2026-07-05 02:29 UTCEPSS rescore
  25. 2026-07-01 15:05 UTCEPSS rescore
Show 51 more
  1. 2026-06-30 23:21 UTCEPSS rescore
  2. 2026-06-30 23:21 UTCEPSS rescore
  3. 2026-06-28 14:06 UTCEPSS rescore
  4. 2026-06-28 14:06 UTCEPSS rescore
  5. 2026-06-28 04:55 UTCEPSS rescore
  6. 2026-06-28 04:55 UTCEPSS rescore
  7. 2026-06-27 13:04 UTCOSV refresh
  8. 2026-06-27 03:07 UTCEPSS rescore
  9. 2026-06-27 03:07 UTCEPSS rescore
  10. 2026-06-25 13:48 UTCEPSS rescore
  11. 2026-06-25 13:48 UTCEPSS rescore
  12. 2026-06-23 21:31 UTCEPSS rescore
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  14. 2026-06-22 14:24 UTCEPSS rescore
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  16. 2026-06-21 01:58 UTCEPSS rescore
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  18. 2026-06-19 19:24 UTCEPSS rescore
  19. 2026-06-19 19:24 UTCEPSS rescore
  20. 2026-06-18 17:51 UTCEPSS rescore
  21. 2026-06-17 17:51 UTCEPSS rescore
  22. 2026-06-17 17:51 UTCEPSS rescore
  23. 2026-06-15 17:47 UTCEPSS rescore
  24. 2026-06-15 17:47 UTCEPSS rescore
  25. 2026-06-14 23:16 UTCEPSS rescore
  26. 2026-06-12 23:10 UTCEPSS rescore
  27. 2026-06-12 23:10 UTCEPSS rescore
  28. 2026-06-11 13:59 UTCEPSS rescore
  29. 2026-06-11 13:59 UTCEPSS rescore
  30. 2026-06-10 22:17 UTCEPSS rescore
  31. 2026-06-09 23:17 UTCOSV refresh
  32. 2026-06-08 14:16 UTCEPSS rescore
  33. 2026-06-08 14:16 UTCEPSS rescore
  34. 2026-06-07 15:23 UTCEPSS rescore
  35. 2026-06-07 15:23 UTCEPSS rescore
  36. 2026-06-06 13:46 UTCEPSS rescore
  37. 2026-06-06 13:46 UTCEPSS rescore
  38. 2026-06-05 22:46 UTCEPSS rescore
  39. 2026-06-05 22:46 UTCEPSS rescore
  40. 2026-06-05 06:09 UTCEPSS rescore
  41. 2026-06-05 06:09 UTCEPSS rescore
  42. 2026-06-05 06:09 UTCEPSS rescore
  43. 2026-06-01 13:51 UTCEPSS rescore
  44. 2026-06-01 13:51 UTCEPSS rescore
  45. 2026-05-31 00:15 UTCEPSS rescore
  46. 2026-05-31 00:15 UTCEPSS rescore
  47. 2026-05-29 13:43 UTCEPSS rescore
  48. 2026-05-29 13:43 UTCEPSS rescore
  49. 2026-05-26 13:43 UTCEPSS rescore
  50. 2026-05-26 13:43 UTCEPSS rescore
  51. 2026-05-24 19:19 UTCEG score recompute

Publicly available exploits

(7 references)

Working exploit code is in the public domain (6 GitHub PoCs) (1 Exploit-DB entry). Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly — public PoCs typically lead to mass-exploitation within 24-72 hours.

  • Exploit-DBEDB-52409
    First seen Aug 11, 2025

    Ghost CMS 5.59.1 - Arbitrary File Read

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCgodylockz/CVE-2023-40028
    First seen Jan 20, 2025

    POC for CVE-2023-40028: Ghost CMS Arbitrary File Read

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCrvizx/CVE-2023-40028
    First seen Dec 28, 2024

    CVE-2023-40028 PoC Exploit

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCrvzsec/CVE-2023-40028
    First seen Dec 28, 2024

    CVE-2023-40028 PoC Exploit

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCmonke443/CVE-2023-40028
    First seen Dec 21, 2024

    Arbitrary file read in Ghost-CMS allows an attacker to upload a malicious ZIP file with a symlink.

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoC0xDTC/Ghost-5.58-Arbitrary-File-Read-CVE-2023-40028
    First seen Dec 12, 2024

    CVE-2023-40028 affects Ghost, an open source content management system, where versions prior to 5.59.1 allow 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.

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoC0xyassine/CVE-2023-40028
    First seen Mar 23, 2024
    Open source ↗

Related CVEs(same CWE)

Frequently asked(5)

What is CVE-2023-40028?
CVE-2023-40028 is a medium vulnerability published on August 15, 2023. 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…
When was CVE-2023-40028 disclosed?
CVE-2023-40028 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on August 15, 2023, with the most recent update on November 21, 2024. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2023-40028 actively exploited?
CVE-2023-40028 is not currently on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. FIRST EPSS estimates a 99.0% percentile likelihood of exploitation in the next 30 days — higher percentiles indicate greater predicted risk.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-40028?
CVE-2023-40028 has a CVSS v3 base score of 4.9 (NVD).
How do I remediate CVE-2023-40028?
Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2023-40028, EchelonGraph cross-links them in the Vendor Advisories panel below — those typically contain the canonical remediation steps, fixed version numbers, and any vendor-specific mitigations.

Dependency Blast Radius

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