Directus: Path Traversal and Broken Access Control in File Management APIGHSA-393c-p46r-7c95
HIGHGHSA-393c-p46r-7c95 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.5) CWE-284 vulnerability in directus. A fix is available for directus — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for GHSA-393c-p46r-7c95.
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
How broadly this vulnerability is actually deployed: weekly install volume shows current usage, and reverse-dependency count shows how many other packages break if it stays unpatched.
directusnpmDescription
Summary
A broken access control vulnerability was identified in the Directus file management API that allows authenticated users to overwrite files belonging to other users by manipulating the filename_disk parameter.
Details
The PATCH /files/{id} endpoint accepts a user-controlled filename_disk parameter. By setting this value to match the storage path of another user's file, an attacker can overwrite that file's content while manipulating metadata fields such as uploaded_by to obscure the tampering.
Impact
- Unauthorized File Overwrite: Attackers can replace legitimate files with malicious content, creating significant risk of malware propagation and data corruption.
- Remote Code Execution: If the storage backend is shared with the extensions location, attackers can deploy malicious extensions that execute arbitrary code when loaded.
- Data Integrity Compromise: Files can be tampered with or replaced without visible indication in the application interface.
Mitigation
The filename_disk parameter should be treated as a server-controlled value. Uniqueness of storage paths must be enforced server-side, and filename_disk should be excluded from the fields users are permitted to update directly.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | directus | all versions | 11.17.0npm install directus@11.17.0 |
Affected Products
directusmonospaceDetection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for directus, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update directus to 11.17.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-393c-p46r-7c95 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Put an independent control in front of the weakness: restrict the affected endpoint or interface to trusted networks, require an additional authentication factor or proxy-level check, and invalidate existing sessions and credentials in case the flaw has already been used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-393c-p46r-7c95 in your dependencies?
Find it across npm, including transitive dependencies.