CVE-2023-35840: Studio 42/elfinder Path Traversal Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-wm5g-p99q-66g4
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-22
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2023-35840 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')) affecting Studio 42/elfinder libraries in the Packagist ecosystem. The issue involves elfinder vulnerable to path traversal in localvolumedriver connector. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2.1.62.

CVE-2023-35840 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2023-35840
GHSA Identifier GHSA-wm5g-p99q-66g4
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 Studio 42/elfinder
Package Ecosystem Packagist
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-2023-35840

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Studio 42/elfinder dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

studio-42/elfinder fixed: 2.1.62 
Upgrade studio-42/elfinder to 2.1.62
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 studio-42/elfinder

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2023-35840, inspect your project dependencies for Studio 42/elfinder:

inspect dependencies for studio-42/elfinder

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Studio 42/elfinder in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 2.1.62), 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 Studio 42/elfinder, 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

### Impact Path Traversal vulnerability in PHP LocalVolumeDriver connector. This vulnerability can be exploited by allowing untrusted users to write to the local file system. This issue was caused by incomplete validity checking of the supplied request parameters. That problem has been fixed in elFinder Version 2.1.62. ### Patches This vulnerability has been fixed in elFinder 2.1.62. Installation managers should update to the latest version as soon as possible. ### Workarounds If you cannot update for some reason, you must stop using it or prohibit writing to untrusted users.

CVE-2023-35840 Affected Studio 42/elfinder Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2.1.62
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
studio-42/elfinder
 Packagist
< 2.1.62
2.1.62

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/Studio-42/elFinder/security/advisories/GHSA-wm5g-p99q-66g4
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/Studio-42/elFinder/commit/bb9aaa7b096a1b83f2f85657c43f12131ece2891
Studio 42/elfinder Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/Studio-42/elFinder

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-35840?
CVE-2023-35840 is a security vulnerability in Studio 42/elfinder involving elFinder vulnerable to path traversal in LocalVolumeDriver connector under CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal').
Which Studio 42/elfinder versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2.1.62 across affected packages: studio-42/elfinder.
What version fixes CVE-2023-35840?
Upgrading to 2.1.62 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is studio-42/elfinder affected?
Yes, studio-42/elfinder is affected in releases prior to 2.1.62. Upgrade your dependency to 2.1.62 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-35840?
CVE-2023-35840 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-2023-35840?
CVE-2023-35840 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-2023-35840?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for studio-42/elfinder'. 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-wm5g-p99q-66g4",
  "modified" : "2023-06-19T20:17:51Z",
  "published" : "2023-06-14T16:37:01Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2023-35840" ],
  "summary" : "elFinder vulnerable to path traversal in LocalVolumeDriver connector",
  "details" : "### Impact\nPath Traversal vulnerability in PHP LocalVolumeDriver connector. This vulnerability can be exploited by allowing untrusted users to write to the local file system.\n\nThis issue was caused by incomplete validity checking of the supplied request parameters. That problem has been fixed in elFinder Version 2.1.62.\n\n### Patches\nThis vulnerability has been fixed in elFinder 2.1.62. Installation managers should update to the latest version as soon as possible.\n\n### Workarounds\nIf you cannot update for some reason, you must stop using it or prohibit writing to untrusted users.",
  "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" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "studio-42/elfinder"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.1.62"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/Studio-42/elFinder/security/advisories/GHSA-wm5g-p99q-66g4"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/Studio-42/elFinder/commit/bb9aaa7b096a1b83f2f85657c43f12131ece2891"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/Studio-42/elFinder"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-22" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-06-14T16:37:01Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}