CVE-2023-32235: Ghost Path Traversal Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-wf7x-fh6w-34r6
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-22
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2023-32235 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')) affecting Ghost libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves path traversal in ghost. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 5.42.1.

CVE-2023-32235 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2023-32235
GHSA Identifier GHSA-wf7x-fh6w-34r6
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 Ghost
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-2023-32235

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

ghost fixed: 5.42.1 
npm install ghost@5.42.1
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 ghost

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2023-32235, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls ghost

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Ghost in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 5.42.1), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls ghost 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 Ghost, 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

Ghost before 5.42.1 allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files within the active theme's folder via /assets/built%2F..%2F..%2F/ directory traversal. This occurs in frontend/web/middleware/static-theme.js.

CVE-2023-32235 Affected Ghost Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
5.42.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
ghost
npm/ghost
npm
< 5.42.1
5.42.1

References

NVD — CVE-2023-32235 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-32235
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/commit/378dd913aa8d0fd0da29b0ffced8884579598b0f
Ghost Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost
Ghost Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/compare/v5.42.0...v5.42.1

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-32235?
CVE-2023-32235 is a security vulnerability in Ghost involving Path Traversal in Ghost under CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal').
Which Ghost versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 5.42.1 across affected packages: ghost.
What version fixes CVE-2023-32235?
Upgrading to 5.42.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is ghost affected?
Yes, ghost is affected in releases prior to 5.42.1. Upgrade your dependency to 5.42.1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-32235?
CVE-2023-32235 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-2023-32235?
CVE-2023-32235 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-2023-32235?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls ghost'. 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-wf7x-fh6w-34r6",
  "modified" : "2023-05-11T20:55:34Z",
  "published" : "2023-05-05T06:30:32Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2023-32235" ],
  "summary" : "Path Traversal in Ghost",
  "details" : "Ghost before 5.42.1 allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files within the active theme's folder via /assets/built%2F..%2F..%2F/ directory traversal. This occurs in frontend/web/middleware/static-theme.js.",
  "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" : "ghost"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "5.42.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-32235"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/commit/378dd913aa8d0fd0da29b0ffced8884579598b0f"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/compare/v5.42.0...v5.42.1"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-22" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-05-05T22:37:11Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2023-05-05T05:15:09Z"
  }
}