CVE-2018-17605: Asset pipeline Path Traversal Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-g7wm-22m6-5774
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-22
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2018-17605 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')) affecting Asset pipeline libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves asset pipeline plugin for grails vulnerable to path traversal. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 3.0.4.

CVE-2018-17605 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2018-17605
GHSA Identifier GHSA-g7wm-22m6-5774
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 Asset pipeline
Package Ecosystem Maven
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:3.0/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-2018-17605

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

org.grails.plugins:asset-pipeline fixed: 3.0.4 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.grails.plugins</groupId>
    <artifactId>asset-pipeline</artifactId>
    <version>3.0.4</version>
</dependency>
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

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

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.grails.plugins

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2018-17605, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.grails.plugins

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Asset pipeline in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 3.0.4), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.grails.plugins command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

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 Asset pipeline, 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

An issue was discovered in the Asset Pipeline plugin before 3.0.4 for Grails. An attacker can perform directory traversal via a crafted request when a servlet-based application is executed in Jetty, because there is a classloader vulnerability that can allow a reverse file traversal route in AssetPipelineFilter.groovy or AssetPipelineFilterCore.groovy.

CVE-2018-17605 Affected Asset pipeline Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
3.0.4
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.grails.plugins:asset-pipeline
maven/org.grails.plugins/asset-pipeline
Maven
< 3.0.4
3.0.4

References

NVD — CVE-2018-17605 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-17605
Asset pipeline Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/grails/grails-core/issues/11068
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/bertramdev/asset-pipeline/commit/a29533c52e4b60e244082433e116d2a038d01017

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2018-17605?
CVE-2018-17605 is a security vulnerability in Asset pipeline involving Asset Pipeline plugin for Grails vulnerable to Path Traversal under CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal').
Which Asset pipeline versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 3.0.4 across affected packages: org.grails.plugins:asset-pipeline.
What version fixes CVE-2018-17605?
Upgrading to 3.0.4 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is asset-pipeline affected?
Yes, org.grails.plugins:asset-pipeline is affected in releases prior to 3.0.4. Upgrade your dependency to 3.0.4 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2018-17605?
CVE-2018-17605 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2018-17605?
CVE-2018-17605 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 Maven dependencies for CVE-2018-17605?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.grails.plugins'. 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-g7wm-22m6-5774",
  "modified" : "2022-11-22T19:24:42Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-14T01:44:59Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2018-17605" ],
  "summary" : "Asset Pipeline plugin for Grails vulnerable to Path Traversal",
  "details" : "An issue was discovered in the Asset Pipeline plugin before 3.0.4 for Grails. An attacker can perform directory traversal via a crafted request when a servlet-based application is executed in Jetty, because there is a classloader vulnerability that can allow a reverse file traversal route in AssetPipelineFilter.groovy or AssetPipelineFilterCore.groovy.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.grails.plugins:asset-pipeline"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3.0.4"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-17605"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/grails/grails-core/issues/11068"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/bertramdev/asset-pipeline/commit/a29533c52e4b60e244082433e116d2a038d01017"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-22" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-11-22T19:24:42Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2018-09-28T09:29:00Z"
  }
}