GHSA-h5fh-7hwr-97mw
MEDIUMGHSA-h5fh-7hwr-97mw is a medium-severity (CVSS 4.1) Path Traversal vulnerability in kimai/kimai. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-h5fh-7hwr-97mw is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Kimai has an arbitrary file read in its invoice PDF renderer (admin)
Real-World Exposure
kimai/kimaiReal-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
Users with the role System-Admin (ROLE_SYSTE_ADMIN) and the permission upload_invoice_template can upload PDF invoice templates, which can call pdfContext.setOption('associated_files', ...) inside the sandboxed Twig render.
This is forwarded to mPDF's SetAssociatedFiles(), whose writer calls file_get_contents($entry['path']) during PDF output and embeds the bytes as a FlateDecode stream in the PDF. Any file readable by the PHP worker is returned to the attacker inside the rendered invoice.
Root cause
-
src/Twig/SecurityPolicy/StrictPolicy.php:123-128explicitly whitelistsPdfContext::setOption():if ($obj instanceof PdfContext) { if ($lcm !== 'setoption') { throw ...; } return; } -
src/Pdf/MPdfConverter.phpkeepsassociated_filesin the pass-through allowlist:$allowed = ['mode','format','default_font_size','default_font', ... , 'associated_files','additional_xmp_rdf'];and then forwards it to mPDF:
if (array_key_exists('associated_files', $options) && is_array($options['associated_files'])) { $associatedFiles = $options['associated_files']; unset($options['associated_files']); } ... $mpdf->SetAssociatedFiles($associatedFiles); -
mPDF 8.3.1
MetadataWriter::writeAssociatedFiles()callsfile_get_contents, which respects PHP stream wrappers:if (isset($file['path'])) { $fileContent = @file_get_contents($file['path']); } ... $filestream = gzcompress($fileContent); $this->writer->write('<</Type /EmbeddedFile');
The sandbox and the option allowlist were both written defensively (short whitelists, not blacklists), but neither side considered that associated_files is a PDF/A file-embedding feature whose path key is a sink.
Fix
The implemented fix has two aspects:
- The
PdfContextnow works with a strict allow-list, that excludesassociated_files - The
MPdfConverternow removes anypathfrom the$associatedFilesarray, which can still be used by plugins:
if (\count($associatedFiles) > 0) {
// remove "path" so mPDF will not use file_get_contents() on local files
// callers must pre-read and pass the bytes via "content"
$associatedFiles = array_map(static function ($entry): array {
if (!\is_array($entry)) {
return [];
}
if (\array_key_exists('path', $entry)) {
unset($entry['path']);
}
return $entry;
}, $associatedFiles);
$mpdf->SetAssociatedFiles($associatedFiles);
}
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐘Packagist | kimai/kimai | ≥ 2.32.0&&< 2.56 | 2.56 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for kimai/kimai. 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 kimai/kimai to 2.56 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-h5fh-7hwr-97mw 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-h5fh-7hwr-97mw 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-h5fh-7hwr-97mw. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-h5fh-7hwr-97mw in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-h5fh-7hwr-97mw across Packagist dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.