GHSA-pm9q-xj9p-96pm is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.3) CWE-248 vulnerability in @strapi/plugin-upload. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-pm9q-xj9p-96pm is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
@strapi/plugin-upload has a Denial-of-Service via Improper Exception Handling
Real-World Exposure
@strapi/plugin-uploadReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects npm packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Summary
A Denial-of-Service was found in the media upload process causing the server to crash without restarting, affecting either development and production environments.
Details
Usually, errors in the application cause it to log the error and keep it running for other clients. This behavior, in contrast, stops the server execution, making it unavailable for any clients until it's manually restarted.
PoC
Due to a bug in what we believe to be Burp’s decoding system, we couldn’t produce a valid file to easily reproduce the vulnerability. Instead, the issue can be reproduced by following these steps:
- Configure Burp’s proxy between a browser and a Strapi server
- Log in and upload an image through the Media Library page while having Burp’s interceptor turned on
- After capturing the upload POST request in Burp, add
%00at the end of the file extension from theContent-Disposition, in the filename parameter (See reference image 1 below) - Using the cursor, select the added
%00and right-click it. Click in Convert selection > URL > URL decode to transform the selected text into a null byte - Forward the modified request. The server should print an error and crash with the error
ERR_INVALID_ARG_VALUE(See reference log 1 below)
By following the data flow, we reached the line of code where we believe the DoS is being caused. The simpler way of fixing this vulnerability seems to be avoiding the error thrown by whitelisting the characters used in the extension.
Reference Image 1
Reference Log 1
[2024-03-22 10:23:42.629] http: POST /upload (22 ms) 400
node:internal/fs/utils:379
const err = new ERR_INVALID_ARG_VALUE(
^
TypeError [ERR_INVALID_ARG_VALUE]: The argument 'path' must be a string, Uint8Array, or URL without null bytes. Received '/mnt/storage/Development/GHSA-pm9q-xj9p-96pm/public/uploads/replaceme_png_88efe6a165.png\x00'
at new WriteStream (node:internal/fs/streams:340:5)
at Object.createWriteStream (node:fs:3123:10)
at /mnt/storage/Development/GHSA-pm9q-xj9p-96pm/node_modules/@strapi/provider-upload-local/dist/index.js:71:33
at new Promise (<anonymous>)
at Object.uploadStream (/mnt/storage/Development/GHSA-pm9q-xj9p-96pm/node_modules/@strapi/provider-upload-local/dist/index.js:68:16)
at Object.uploadStream (/mnt/storage/Development/GHSA-pm9q-xj9p-96pm/node_modules/@strapi/plugin-upload/server/register.js:80:35)
at Object.upload (/mnt/storage/Development/GHSA-pm9q-xj9p-96pm/node_modules/@strapi/plugin-upload/server/services/provider.js:16:46)
at Object.uploadImage (/mnt/storage/Development/GHSA-pm9q-xj9p-96pm/node_modules/@strapi/plugin-upload/server/services/upload.js:220:48) {
code: 'ERR_INVALID_ARG_VALUE'
}
Impact
Denial-of-Service occurs when a service becomes unavailable for users or other services. By sending a specially-crafted request, the server crashes without restarting. The entire server crashes with the thrown error instead of crashing only the single request and returning error 500 to the user. Any user with access to the file upload functionality is able to exploit this vulnerability, affecting applications running in both development mode and production mode as well.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | @strapi/plugin-upload | all versions | 4.22.0 |
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 dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for @strapi/plugin-upload. 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 @strapi/plugin-upload to 4.22.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-pm9q-xj9p-96pm 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-pm9q-xj9p-96pm 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-pm9q-xj9p-96pm. 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-pm9q-xj9p-96pm in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-pm9q-xj9p-96pm across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.