GHSA-r9mq-3c9r-fmjq
CRITICALVendure asset server plugin has local file read vulnerability with AssetServerPlugin & LocalAssetStorageStrategy
EPSS Exploitation Probability
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
Weekly download volume for affected packages — a proxy for how broadly this vulnerability is deployed.
@vendure/asset-server-pluginnpmDescription
Description
Path traversal
This vulnerability allows an attacker to craft a request which is able to traverse the server file system and retrieve the contents of arbitrary files, including sensitive data such as configuration files, environment variables, and other critical data stored on the server.
From Rajesh Sharma who discovered the vulnerability:
POC: curl --path-as-is http://localhost:3000/assets/../package.json gives you the content of package.json present in the local directory.
The vulnerability stems from usage of decodedReqPath directly in path.join without performing any path normalization i.e path.normalize in node.js
If the vendure service is behind some server like nginx, apache, etc. Path normalization is performed on the root server level but still the actual client's request path will be sent to vendure service but not the resultant normalized path. However, depending the type of root server one can try various payloads to bypass such normalization.
The reporter found a customer website which uses local asset plugin and using above mentioned vulnerability, and was able to find secrets like email credentials.
DOS via malformed URI
In the same code path is an additional vector for crashing the server via a malformed URI
Again from Rajesh:
There is also a potential Denial of Service (DoS) issue when incorrectly encoded URI characters are passed as part of the asset URL. When these malformed requests are processed, they can lead to system crashes or resource exhaustion, rendering the service unavailable to users.
Exploit: curl --path-as-is http://localhost:3000/assets/%80package.json , here %80 is not a valid url-encoded character hence the decodeURIComponent is called on it, the entire app crashes.
[:server] /Users/abc/mywork/vendure/packages/asset-server-plugin/src/plugin.ts:353
[:server] const decodedReqPath = decodeURIComponent(req.path);
[:server] ^
[:server] URIError: URI malformed
Patches
v3.0.5, v2.3.3
Workarounds
- Use object storage rather than the local file system, e.g. MinIO or S3
- Define middleware which detects and blocks requests with urls containing
/../
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | @vendure/asset-server-plugin | all versions | 2.3.3 |
| 📦npm | @vendure/asset-server-plugin | ≥ 3.0.0&&< 3.0.5 | 3.0.5 |
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 @vendure/asset-server-plugin. 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 @vendure/asset-server-plugin to 2.3.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-r9mq-3c9r-fmjq 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-r9mq-3c9r-fmjq 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-r9mq-3c9r-fmjq. 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-r9mq-3c9r-fmjq in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-r9mq-3c9r-fmjq across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.