CVE-2025-66295: Getgrav/grav Path Traversal Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-h756-wh59-hhjv
CVSS 8.8
CWE-22
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2025-66295 is a HIGH (CVSS 8.8) path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')) affecting Getgrav/grav libraries in the Packagist ecosystem. The issue involves grav vulnerable to path traversal / arbitrary yaml write via user creation leading to account takeover / system corruption. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.8.0-beta.27.

CVE-2025-66295 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2025-66295
GHSA Identifier GHSA-h756-wh59-hhjv
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 8.8
CWE Classification CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
Affected Product Getgrav/grav
Package Ecosystem Packagist
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 8.8

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

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required Low (PR:L)
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-2025-66295

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

getgrav/grav fixed: 1.8.0-beta.27
Upgrade getgrav/grav to 1.8.0-beta.27
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 getgrav/grav

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2025-66295, inspect your project dependencies for Getgrav/grav:

inspect dependencies for getgrav/grav

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Getgrav/grav in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.8.0-beta.27), 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-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 Getgrav/grav, 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

### Summary When a user with privilege of user creation creates a new user through the Admin UI and supplies a username containing path traversal sequences (for example ..\Nijat or ../Nijat), Grav writes the account YAML file to an unintended path outside user/accounts/. The written YAML can contain account fields such as email, fullname, twofa_secret, and hashed_password. In my tests, I was able to cause the Admin UI to write the following content into arbitrary .yaml files (including files like email.yaml, system.yaml, or other site YAML files like admin.yaml) — demonstrating arbitrary YAML write / overwrite via the Admin UI. Example observed content written by the Admin UI (test data): username: ..\Nijat state: enabled email: [EMAIL@gmail.com](mailto:EMAIL@gmail.com) fullname: 'Nijat Alizada' language: en content_editor: default twofa_enabled: false twofa_secret: RWVEIHC2AFVD6FCR6UHCO3DS4HWXKKDT avatar: { } hashed_password: $2y$10$wl9Ktv3vUmDKCt8o6u2oOuRZr1I04OE0YZf2sJ1QcAherbNnk1XVC access: site: login: true ### Steps to Reproduce 1. Log in to the Grav Admin UI as an administrator. 2. Create a new user with the following values (example): a. Username: ..\POC-TOKEN-2025-09-29 b. Fullname: POC-TOKEN-2025-09-29 c. Email: poc+2025-09-29@example.test d. Password: (any password) Observe that a YAML file containing the POC-TOKEN is written outside user/accounts/ (for example in the parent directory of user/accounts) ### Impact 1. Config corruption / service disruption: Overwriting system.yaml, email.yaml, or plugin config files with attacker-controlled YAML (even if limited to fields present in account YAML) could break functionality, disable services, or cause misconfiguration requiring recovery from backups. 2. Account takeover, any user with create user privilege can modify other user's email and password by just creating a new user with the name "..\accounts\USERNAME_OF_VICTIM" ### Proof of Concept https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/cf503d74-f765-4031-8e22-71f6b3630847

CVE-2025-66295 Affected Getgrav/grav Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.8.0-beta.27
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
getgrav/grav
Packagist
< 1.8.0-beta.27
1.8.0-beta.27

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-66295?
CVE-2025-66295 is a security vulnerability in Getgrav/grav involving Grav vulnerable to Path traversal / arbitrary YAML write via user creation leading to Account Takeover / System Corruption under CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal').
Which Getgrav/grav versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.8.0-beta.27 across affected packages: getgrav/grav.
What version fixes CVE-2025-66295?
Upgrading to 1.8.0-beta.27 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is getgrav/grav affected?
Yes, getgrav/grav is affected in releases prior to 1.8.0-beta.27. Upgrade your dependency to 1.8.0-beta.27 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2025-66295?
CVE-2025-66295 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2025-66295?
CVE-2025-66295 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 Packagist dependencies for CVE-2025-66295?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for getgrav/grav'. 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-h756-wh59-hhjv",
  "modified" : "2025-12-02T01:23:05Z",
  "published" : "2025-12-02T01:23:05Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2025-66295" ],
  "summary" : "Grav vulnerable to Path traversal / arbitrary YAML write via user creation leading to Account Takeover / System Corruption",
  "details" : "### Summary\nWhen a user with privilege of user creation creates a new user through the Admin UI and supplies a username containing path traversal sequences (for example ..\\Nijat or ../Nijat), Grav writes the account YAML file to an unintended path outside user/accounts/. The written YAML can contain account fields such as email, fullname, twofa_secret, and hashed_password. In my tests,  I was able to cause the Admin UI to write the following content into arbitrary .yaml files (including files like email.yaml, system.yaml, or other site YAML files like admin.yaml) — demonstrating arbitrary YAML write / overwrite via the Admin UI.\n\nExample observed content written by the Admin UI (test data):\nusername: ..\\Nijat\nstate: enabled\nemail: [EMAIL@gmail.com](mailto:EMAIL@gmail.com)\nfullname: 'Nijat Alizada'\nlanguage: en\ncontent_editor: default\ntwofa_enabled: false\ntwofa_secret: RWVEIHC2AFVD6FCR6UHCO3DS4HWXKKDT\navatar: { }\nhashed_password: $2y$10$wl9Ktv3vUmDKCt8o6u2oOuRZr1I04OE0YZf2sJ1QcAherbNnk1XVC\naccess:\nsite:\nlogin: true\n\n\n### Steps to Reproduce\n1. Log in to the Grav Admin UI as an administrator.\n2. Create a new user with the following values (example):\n        a. Username: ..\\POC-TOKEN-2025-09-29\n        b. Fullname: POC-TOKEN-2025-09-29\n        c. Email: poc+2025-09-29@example.test\n        d. Password: (any password)\nObserve that a YAML file containing the POC-TOKEN is written outside user/accounts/ (for example in the parent directory of user/accounts)\n\n\n### Impact\n1. Config corruption / service disruption: Overwriting system.yaml, email.yaml, or plugin config files with attacker-controlled YAML (even if limited to fields present in account YAML) could break functionality, disable services, or cause misconfiguration requiring recovery from backups.\n2. Account takeover, any user with create user privilege can modify other user's email and password by just creating a new user with the name \"..\\accounts\\USERNAME_OF_VICTIM\"\n\n\n### Proof of Concept\nhttps://github.com/user-attachments/assets/cf503d74-f765-4031-8e22-71f6b3630847",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "getgrav/grav"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.8.0-beta.27"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/getgrav/grav/security/advisories/GHSA-h756-wh59-hhjv"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-66295"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/getgrav/grav/commit/3462d94d575064601689b236508c316242e15741"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/getgrav/grav"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-22" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2025-12-02T01:23:05Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2025-12-01T21:15:53Z"
  }
}