CVE-2023-0591: Ubi reader Path Traversal Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-vp2x-3mc3-3cj4
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CVSS 5.5
CWE-22
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2023-0591 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.5) path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')) affecting Ubi reader libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves path traversal in ubi-reader. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.8.5.

CVE-2023-0591 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2023-0591
GHSA Identifier GHSA-vp2x-3mc3-3cj4
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.5
CWE Classification CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
Affected Product Ubi reader
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 5.5

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N).

Attack Vector Local (AV:L)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction Required (UI:R)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality None (C:N)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2023-0591

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

ubi-reader fixed: 0.8.5 
pip install ubi-reader>=0.8.5
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 ubi-reader

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2023-0591, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show ubi-reader

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Ubi reader in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.8.5), your application is affected.

Note: The pip show ubi-reader 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 Ubi reader, 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

ubireader_extract_files is vulnerable to path traversal when run against specifically crafted UBIFS files, allowing the attacker to overwrite files outside of the extraction directory (provided the process has write access to that file or directory). This is due to the fact that a node name (dent_node.name) is considered trusted and joined to the extraction directory path during processing, then the node content is written to that joined path. By crafting a malicious UBIFS file with node names holding path traversal payloads (e.g. ../../tmp/outside.txt), it's possible to force ubi_reader to write outside of the extraction directory. This issue affects ubi-reader before 0.8.5.

CVE-2023-0591 Affected Ubi reader Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.8.5
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
ubi-reader
pypi/ubi-reader
PyPI
< 0.8.5
0.8.5

References

NVD — CVE-2023-0591 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-0591
Ubi reader Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/jrspruitt/ubi_reader/pull/57
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/jrspruitt/ubi_reader/commit/d5d68e6b1b9f7070c29df5f67fc060f579ae9139
Ubi reader Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/jrspruitt/ubi_reader
Ubi reader Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/ubi-reader/PYSEC-2023-51.yaml
Ubi reader Security Information SECURITY
https://onekey.com/blog/security-advisory-remote-command-execution-in-binwalk

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-0591?
CVE-2023-0591 is a security vulnerability in Ubi reader involving Path traversal in ubi-reader under CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal').
Which Ubi reader versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.8.5 across affected packages: ubi-reader.
What version fixes CVE-2023-0591?
Upgrading to 0.8.5 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is ubi-reader affected?
Yes, ubi-reader is affected in releases prior to 0.8.5. Upgrade your dependency to 0.8.5 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-0591?
CVE-2023-0591 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.5 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2023-0591?
CVE-2023-0591 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-2023-0591?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show ubi-reader'. 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-vp2x-3mc3-3cj4",
  "modified" : "2024-11-18T23:10:29Z",
  "published" : "2023-01-31T12:30:24Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2023-0591" ],
  "summary" : "Path traversal in ubi-reader",
  "details" : "ubireader_extract_files is vulnerable to path traversal when run against specifically crafted UBIFS files, allowing the attacker to overwrite files outside of the extraction directory (provided the process has write access to that file or directory). This is due to the fact that a node name (dent_node.name) is considered trusted and joined to the extraction directory path during processing, then the node content is written to that joined path. By crafting a malicious UBIFS file with node names holding path traversal payloads (e.g. ../../tmp/outside.txt), it's possible to force ubi_reader to write outside of the extraction directory. This issue affects ubi-reader before 0.8.5.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "ubi-reader"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.8.5"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-0591"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/jrspruitt/ubi_reader/pull/57"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/jrspruitt/ubi_reader/commit/d5d68e6b1b9f7070c29df5f67fc060f579ae9139"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/jrspruitt/ubi_reader"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/ubi-reader/PYSEC-2023-51.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://onekey.com/blog/security-advisory-remote-command-execution-in-binwalk"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-22" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-01-31T19:01:51Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2023-01-31T10:15:00Z"
  }
}