CVE-2020-25074: Moin Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-52q8-877j-gghq
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CVSS 8.8
CWE-22
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2020-25074 is a HIGH (CVSS 8.8) remote code execution vulnerability (CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')) affecting Moin libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves moinmoin vulnerable to remote code execution via cache action. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.9.11.

CVE-2020-25074 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2020-25074
GHSA Identifier GHSA-52q8-877j-gghq
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 Moin
Package Ecosystem PyPI
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-2020-25074

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

moin fixed: 1.9.11 
pip install moin>=1.9.11
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

pip show moin

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2020-25074, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show moin

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Moin in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.9.11), your application is affected.

Note: The pip show moin 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 Moin, 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 The cache action in action/cache.py allows directory traversal through a crafted HTTP request. An attacker who can upload attachments to the wiki can use this to achieve remote code execution. ### Patches Users are strongly advised to upgrade to a patched version. MoinMoin Wiki 1.9.11 has the necessary fixes and also contains other important fixes. ### Workarounds It is not advised to work around this, but to upgrade MoinMoin to a patched version. That said, a work around via disabling the `cache` or the `AttachFile` action might be possible. Also, it is of course helpful if you give `write` permissions (which include uploading attachments) only to trusted users. ### Credits This vulnerability was discovered by Michael Chapman. ### For more information If you have any questions or comments about this advisory, email me at [twaldmann@thinkmo.de](mailto:twaldmann@thinkmo.de).

CVE-2020-25074 Affected Moin Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.9.11
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
moin
pypi/moin
PyPI
< 1.9.11
1.9.11

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/moinwiki/moin-1.9/security/advisories/GHSA-52q8-877j-gghq
NVD — CVE-2020-25074 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-25074
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/moinwiki/moin-1.9/commit/6b96a9060069302996b5af47fd4a388fc80172b7
Moin Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/moinwiki/moin
Moin Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/moin/PYSEC-2020-67.yaml
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce... WEB
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/11/msg00020.html
pypi.org/project/moin WEB
https://pypi.org/project/moin
Moin Security Information SECURITY
https://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4787
Moin Security Information SECURITY
http://moinmo.in/SecurityFixes

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-25074?
CVE-2020-25074 is a security vulnerability in Moin involving MoinMoin vulnerable to remote code execution via cache action under CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal').
Which Moin versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.9.11 across affected packages: moin.
What version fixes CVE-2020-25074?
Upgrading to 1.9.11 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is moin affected?
Yes, moin is affected in releases prior to 1.9.11. Upgrade your dependency to 1.9.11 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-25074?
CVE-2020-25074 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-2020-25074?
CVE-2020-25074 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 PyPI dependencies for CVE-2020-25074?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show moin'. 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-52q8-877j-gghq",
  "modified" : "2024-10-07T14:54:33Z",
  "published" : "2020-11-11T15:54:51Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2020-25074" ],
  "summary" : "MoinMoin vulnerable to remote code execution via cache action",
  "details" : "### Impact\nThe cache action in action/cache.py allows directory traversal through a crafted HTTP request. An attacker who can upload attachments to the wiki can use this to achieve remote code execution.\n\n### Patches\nUsers are strongly advised to upgrade to a patched version.\n\nMoinMoin Wiki 1.9.11 has the necessary fixes and also contains other important fixes.\n\n### Workarounds\nIt is not advised to work around this, but to upgrade MoinMoin to a patched version.\n\nThat said, a work around via disabling the `cache` or the `AttachFile` action might be possible.\n\nAlso, it is of course helpful if you give `write` permissions (which include uploading attachments) only to trusted users.\n\n### Credits\n\nThis vulnerability was discovered by Michael Chapman.\n\n### For more information\nIf you have any questions or comments about this advisory, email me at [twaldmann@thinkmo.de](mailto:twaldmann@thinkmo.de).",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "moin"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.9.11"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/moinwiki/moin-1.9/security/advisories/GHSA-52q8-877j-gghq"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-25074"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/moinwiki/moin-1.9/commit/6b96a9060069302996b5af47fd4a388fc80172b7"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/moinwiki/moin"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/moin/PYSEC-2020-67.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/11/msg00020.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://pypi.org/project/moin"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4787"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://moinmo.in/SecurityFixes"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-22" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-11-11T15:51:56Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}