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GHSA-8g7v-vjrc-x4g5

HighCVSS 7.2 / 10
Published Mar 20, 2024·Last modified Jul 20, 2026
Affected Components(0)

No affected components available

Description

Impact

This vulnerability requires GeoServer Administrator with access to the admin console to misconfigured the Global Settings for log file location to an arbitrary location.

This can be used to read files via the admin console GeoServer Logs page. It is also possible to leverage RCE or cause denial of service by overwriting key GeoServer files.

Patches

This issue has been addressed in GeoServer 3.0.0:

  • The Global Settings page can no longer be used to specify log file location
  • The application parameter GEOSERVER_LOG_LOCATION mechanism (outlined below) is now the only approach available to customize the log file location.

Workarounds

A system administrator responsible for running GeoServer can define the GEOSERVER_LOG_FILE parameter, preventing the global setting provided from being used.

The GEOSERVER_LOG_LOCATION parameter can be set as system property, environment variable, or servlet context parameter.

Environmental variable:

export GEOSERVER_LOG_LOCATION=/var/opt/geoserver/logs

System property:

-DGEOSERVER_LOG_LOCATION=/var/opt/geoserver/logs

Web application WEB-INF/web.xml:

  <context-param>
    <param-name> GEOSERVER_LOG_LOCATION </param-name>
    <param-value>/var/opt/geoserver/logs</param-value>
  </context-param>

Tomcat conf/Catalina/localhost/geoserver.xml:

<Context>
  <Parameter name="GEOSERVER_LOG_LOCATION"
             value="/var/opt/geoserver/logs" override="false"/>
</Context>

References

Risk Scores
Base Score
7.2

The vulnerability can be exploited over the network without needing physical access. It is easy for an attacker to exploit this vulnerability. An attacker needs high-level or administrative privileges. No user interaction is needed for the attacker to exploit this vulnerability. The impact is confined to the system where the vulnerability exists. There is a high impact on the confidentiality of the information. There is a high impact on the integrity of the data. There is a high impact on the availability of the system.

Threat Intelligence
6.6

Exploitation attempts have been detected. Elevated vigilance and prompt remediation are advised.

EPSS
0.84%

The exploit probability is very low. The vulnerability is unlikely to be exploited in the next 30 days.

Exploit
Not available

We did not find any exploit available. Neither in GitHub repositories nor in the Exploit-Database.

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