# CVE-2014-2383: dompdf - Path Traversal

> Live exploitation tracking for CVE-2014-2383 by the CrowdSec Live Exploit Tracker, built from real-world attack data crowdsourced from CrowdSec's global network.

Page: https://tracker.crowdsec.net/cves/CVE-2014-2383

## Key facts

- **Exploitation phase:** Background Noise. Continuous low-level scanning or exploitation attempts are observed, mostly opportunistic and automated.
- **CVSS score:** 6.8
- **Public exploit available:** Yes
- **Affected products:** dompdf
- **Weaknesses:** CWE-200 (Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor)
- **Tags:** web_application

## Description

dompdf.php in dompdf before 0.6.1, when DOMPDF_ENABLE_PHP is enabled, allows context-dependent attackers to bypass chroot protections and read arbitrary files via a PHP protocol and wrappers in the input_file parameter, as demonstrated by a php://filter/read=convert.base64-encode/resource in the input_file parameter.

## CrowdSec analysis

[CVE-2014-2383](https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/CVE-2014-2383) is a vulnerability affecting the dompdf library, which can allow attackers to bypass security restrictions and access arbitrary files through specially crafted parameters.

CrowdSec has been tracking this vulnerability and its exploits since 7th of May 2025.

According to CrowdSec data, while opportunistic exploitation dominates, a portion of threat actors trying to exploit CVE-2014-2383 apply basic targeting methods such as port or service detection. This indicates emerging patterns of selective targeting.
In addition, according to the CrowdSec network, attack volume against CVE-2014-2383 has dipped slightly compared to the previous week. Although still commonly targeted, the decline suggests a cooling-off period. Long-term relevance remains, but attention is waning.

Observed attack patterns are aimed at URLs referencing various `dompdf.php` paths across plugin or library directories.

## Timeline

- 2014-04-28: CVE Published. CVE-2014-2383 is published to NVD.
- 2025-05-07: Rule Released. CrowdSec releases a rule to detect CVE-2014-2383 exploitation attempts against the CrowdSec Network.
- 2025-05-07: CrowdSec First Seen. CrowdSec observes in-the-wild exploitation of CVE-2014-2383 for the first time.

## References

- https://github.com/dompdf/dompdf/commit/23a693993299e669306929e3d49a4a1f7b3fb028
- https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2014/CVE-2014-2383.yaml

## Live exploitation data

The [Live Exploit Tracker page](https://tracker.crowdsec.net/cves/CVE-2014-2383) follows observed exploitation activity for CVE-2014-2383. [Request an API key](https://tracker.crowdsec.net/request-api-key) for full access to its exploitation timeline, attacking IP addresses and blocklists.