CVE-2019-15138: Html pdf Arbitrary File Read Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-x4w5-r546-x9qh
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-668 CWE-79 CWE-73 CWE-200
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2019-15138 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) arbitrary file read vulnerability (CWE-668: Exposure of Resource to Wrong Sphere) affecting Html pdf libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves arbitrary file read in html-pdf. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 3.0.1.

CVE-2019-15138 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2019-15138
GHSA Identifier GHSA-x4w5-r546-x9qh
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-668: Exposure of Resource to Wrong Sphere
Affected Product Html pdf
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-2019-15138

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

html-pdf fixed: 3.0.1 
npm install html-pdf@3.0.1
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 html-pdf

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2019-15138, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls html-pdf

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Html pdf in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 3.0.1), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls html-pdf 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-668: Exposure of Resource to Wrong Sphere, where the product exposes a resource to the wrong control sphere, providing unintended actors with inappropriate access to the resource. In Html pdf, 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

All versions of `html-pdf` are vulnerable to Arbitrary File Read. The package fails to sanitize the HTML input, allowing attackers to exfiltrate server files by supplying malicious HTML code. XHR requests in the HTML code are executed by the server. Input with an XHR request such as `request.open("GET","file:///etc/passwd")` will result in a PDF document with the contents of `/etc/passwd`. ## Recommendation No fix is currently available. There is a mitigation available in the provided reference.

CVE-2019-15138 Affected Html pdf Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
3.0.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
html-pdf
npm/html-pdf
npm
< 3.0.1
3.0.1

References

NVD — CVE-2019-15138 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-15138
Html pdf Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/marcbachmann/node-html-pdf/issues/530
Html pdf Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/marcbachmann/node-html-pdf/issues/530#issuecomment-535045123
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/marcbachmann/node-html-pdf/commit/c12d6977778014139183c9f8da7579fd7ac65362
Html pdf Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/marcbachmann/node-html-pdf
Html pdf Release RELEASE
https://github.com/marcbachmann/node-html-pdf/releases/tag/v3.0.1
Html pdf Security Information SECURITY
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20191017-0005
www.npmjs.com/advisories/1095 WEB
https://www.npmjs.com/advisories/1095

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2019-15138?
CVE-2019-15138 is a security vulnerability in Html pdf involving Arbitrary File Read in html-pdf under CWE-668: Exposure of Resource to Wrong Sphere.
Which Html pdf versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 3.0.1 across affected packages: html-pdf.
What version fixes CVE-2019-15138?
Upgrading to 3.0.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is html-pdf affected?
Yes, html-pdf is affected in releases prior to 3.0.1. Upgrade your dependency to 3.0.1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2019-15138?
CVE-2019-15138 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-2019-15138?
CVE-2019-15138 is classified under CWE-668: Exposure of Resource to Wrong Sphere (The product exposes a resource to the wrong control sphere, providing unintended actors with inappropriate access to the resource.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2019-15138?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls html-pdf'. 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-x4w5-r546-x9qh",
  "modified" : "2022-01-04T19:51:51Z",
  "published" : "2019-10-11T18:40:38Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2019-15138" ],
  "summary" : "Arbitrary File Read in html-pdf",
  "details" : "All versions of `html-pdf` are vulnerable to Arbitrary File Read. The package fails to sanitize the HTML input, allowing attackers to exfiltrate server files by supplying malicious HTML code. XHR requests in the HTML code are executed by the server. Input with an XHR request such as `request.open(\"GET\",\"file:///etc/passwd\")` will result in a PDF document with the contents of `/etc/passwd`.\n\n\n## Recommendation\n\nNo fix is currently available. There is a mitigation available in the provided reference.",
  "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" : "html-pdf"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3.0.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-15138"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/marcbachmann/node-html-pdf/issues/530"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/marcbachmann/node-html-pdf/issues/530#issuecomment-535045123"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/marcbachmann/node-html-pdf/commit/c12d6977778014139183c9f8da7579fd7ac65362"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/marcbachmann/node-html-pdf"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/marcbachmann/node-html-pdf/releases/tag/v3.0.1"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20191017-0005"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.npmjs.com/advisories/1095"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-200", "CWE-668", "CWE-73", "CWE-79" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2019-09-25T12:39:43Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2019-09-20T20:15:00Z"
  }
}