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GHSA-jh85-wwv9-24hv

HighCVSS 7.5 / 10
Published May 15, 2023·Last modified Feb 21, 2025
Affected Components(0)

No affected components available

Description

Summary

Arbitrary file read when using include file syntax.

Details

By using the syntax --8<--"/etc/passwd" or --8<--"/proc/self/environ" the content of these files will be rendered in the generated documentation. Additionally, a path relative to a specified, allowed base path can also be used to render the content of a file outside the specified base paths: --8<-- "../../../../etc/passwd".

Within the Snippets extension, there exists a base_path option but the implementation is vulnerable to Directory Traversal. The vulnerable section exists in get_snippet_path(self, path) lines 155 to 174 in snippets.py.

base = "docs"
path = "/etc/passwd"
filename = os.path.join(base,path) # Filename is now /etc/passwd

PoC

import markdown

payload = "--8<-- \"/etc/passwd\""
html = markdown.markdown(payload, extensions=['pymdownx.snippets'])

print(html)

Impact

Any readable file on the host where the plugin is executing may have its content exposed. This can impact any use of Snippets that exposes the use of Snippets to external users.

It is never recommended to use Snippets to process user-facing, dynamic content. It is designed to process known content on the backend under the control of the host, but if someone were to accidentally enable it for user-facing content, undesired information could be exposed.

Suggestion

Specified snippets should be restricted to the configured, specified base paths as a safe default. Allowing relative or absolute paths that escape the specified base paths would need to be behind a feature switch that must be opt-in and would be at the developer's own risk.

Risk Scores
Base Score
7.5

The vulnerability can be exploited over the network without needing physical access. It is easy for an attacker to exploit this vulnerability. An attacker does not need any special privileges or access rights. 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.

Threat Intelligence
6.9

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

EPSS
1.66%

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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