Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This CVE affects legacy A10 Networks AX load balancers. An unauthenticated remote attacker may read files outside the intended download directory through a vulnerable HTTP endpoint, and retrieved files may be deleted afterward. Sensitive SSL certificates or private keys could be exposed, creating outage and confidentiality risk.
Executive priority
Treat as high priority for legacy A10 AX environments, especially internet-reachable appliances. The main business risks are private-key disclosure, compromise of encrypted traffic trust, and operational disruption from unintended file deletion.
Technical view
The issue is path traversal in the filename parameter of /xml/downloads on A10 AX Loadbalancer versions 2.6.1-GR1-P5, 2.7.0, and earlier. Input is not properly sanitized, allowing arbitrary file read outside the intended path. The bundle also reports post-retrieval file deletion. CVSS v4.0 score is 8.8.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely where affected A10 AX devices have the vulnerable HTTP endpoint reachable from untrusted networks. The affected-version metadata is inconsistent: the description names legacy AX versions, while the affected table appears malformed and defaults to unaffected.
Exploitation context
The CVE is not listed as KEV in the bundle, so active exploitation is not established here. However, public exploit references exist in Metasploit and Exploit-DB, increasing validation and remediation urgency.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports unauthenticated network path traversal with confidentiality impact and limited integrity and availability impact. Public exploit references exist, but this bundle does not prove active exploitation or provide an official patch. The affected CPE/version record appears unreliable and needs vendor confirmation.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory A10 AX Loadbalancer deployments and identify named legacy versions.
- Check A10 Networks guidance for fixed versions or official workarounds.
- Restrict access to management or download endpoints from untrusted networks.
- Rotate SSL certificates and private keys if exposure is suspected.
- Restore deleted or altered files from trusted backups if needed.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether any A10 AX devices run 2.6.1-GR1-P5, 2.7.0, or earlier.
- Review exposure of the /xml/downloads endpoint from external and internal networks.
- Check logs for unusual requests targeting /xml/downloads and filename parameters.
- Verify certificate and private-key integrity on affected appliances.
- Reconcile the malformed affected-product metadata with vendor documentation.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-22: File access and web shell behavior lookup
File traversal and upload weaknesses can lead teams to review file, web shell, execution, and collection telemetry. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCWE-706: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupFile access behavior lookup
The CVE wording references file access or upload behavior, so file telemetry and web shell review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2014-125125 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 8.8 (4.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
SSVC decision data
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N——VulnCheckVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 4.0 score
8.8HighVector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/master/modules/auxiliary/scanner/http/a10networks_ax_directory_traversal.rbCVE reference, VulnCheck · exploit
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/31261CVE reference, VulnCheck · exploit
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/a10-networks-ax-loadbalancer-path-traversalCVE reference, VulnCheck · third-party-advisory
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.
Use of Incorrectly-Resolved Name or Reference
Use of Incorrectly-Resolved Name or Reference represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.