GHSA-vhvx-8xgc-99wf is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.2) Path Traversal vulnerability in org.dspace:dspace-api. A fix is available for org.dspace:dspace-api — see the affected versions and patch details below.
DSpace is vulnerable to Path Traversal attacks when importing packages using Simple Archive Format
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for GHSA-vhvx-8xgc-99wf.
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.
How urgent is this, really
GHSA-vhvx-8xgc-99wf plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 376,715 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
org.dspace:dspace-api☕org.dspace:dspace-api☕org.dspace:dspace-apiReal-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
Impact
A path traversal vulnerability is possible during the import of an archive (in Simple Archive Format), either from command-line (./dspace import command) or from the "Batch Import (Zip)" user interface feature. This vulnerability likely impacts all versions of DSpace 1.x <= 7.6.3, 8.0 <= 8.1, and 9.0.
An attacker may craft a malicious Simple Archive Format (SAF) package where the contents file references any system files (using relative traversal sequences) which are readable by the Tomcat user. If such a package is imported, this will result in sensitive content disclose, including retrieving arbitrary files or configurations from the server where DSpace is running.
The Simple Archive Format (SAF) importer / Batch Import (Zip) is only usable by site administrators (from user interface / REST API) or system administrators (from command-line). Therefore, to exploit this vulnerability, the malicious payload would have to be provided by an attacker and trusted by an administrator (who would trigger the import).
- The most severe practical impact is a case where an attacker obtains DSpace administrator credentials and uses the Batch Import feature with a malicious SAF archive to expose sensitive local files readable by the Tomcat user.
- An attacker without administrative credentials might use some other tactic to convince an administrator to import a malicious SAF archive they have supplied.
Patches
The fix is included in DSpace 7.6.4, 8.2 and 9.1. Please upgrade to one of these versions.
If you cannot upgrade immediately, it is possible to manually patch your DSpace backend. (No changes are necessary to the frontend.) A pull request exists which can be used to patch systems running DSpace 7.6.x, 8.x or 9.0. This pull request provides validation checks of paths in the contents file of an SAF package to ensure it does not reference any files outside of the SAF package.
- Pull request for 7.x: https://github.com/DSpace/DSpace/pull/11036 (Downloadable patch file)
- Pull request for 8.x: https://github.com/DSpace/DSpace/pull/11037 (Downloadable patch file)
- Pull request for 9.0: https://github.com/DSpace/DSpace/pull/11038 (Downloadable patch file)
Apply the patch to your DSpace
If at all possible, we recommend upgrading your DSpace site based on the upgrade instructions. However, if you are unable to do so, you can manually apply the above patches to your DSpace backend as follows:
- Download the appropriate patch file to the machine where DSpace backend is running
- From the
[dspace-src]folder, apply the patch, e.g.git apply [name-of-file].patch - Now, update your DSpace site (based loosely on the Upgrade instructions). This generally involves three steps:
- Rebuild DSpace, e.g.
mvn -U clean package(This will recompile all DSpace backend code) - Redeploy DSpace, e.g.
ant update(This will copy all newly built code to your installation directory). Depending on your setup you also may need to copy the updated "server" webapp over to your Tomcat webapps folder. - Restart Tomcat (or runnable JAR)
- Rebuild DSpace, e.g.
Workarounds
Patching the system is the recommended fix. It is not possible to fully protect your system via workarounds.
That said, until you are able to patch your system or upgrade, you can apply these best practices:
- Administrators must carefully inspect any SAF archives (they did not construct themselves) before importing, paying close attention to the
contentsfile to validate it does not reference files outside of the SAF archives. - If SAF archives are too large to manually inspect, you should avoid importing them until your site is patched.
Credits
Discovered & reported by Marcin Miłosz (@MMilosz) of PCG Academia Code fix developed by Marcin Miłosz of PCG Academia and Kim Shepherd (@kshepherd) of The Library Code
For more information
- Path Traversal Vulnerability explained
- If you have any questions or comments about this advisory, please contact us at [email protected]
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.dspace:dspace-api | all versions | 7.6.4org.dspace:dspace-api:7.6.4 |
| ☕Maven | org.dspace:dspace-api | ≥ 8.0&&< 8.2 | 8.2org.dspace:dspace-api:8.2 |
| ☕Maven | org.dspace:dspace-api | ≥ 9.0&&< 9.1 | 9.1org.dspace:dspace-api:9.1 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.dspace:dspace-api, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.dspace:dspace-api to 7.6.4 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-vhvx-8xgc-99wf 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 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like GHSA-vhvx-8xgc-99wf can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-vhvx-8xgc-99wf. 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-vhvx-8xgc-99wf in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-vhvx-8xgc-99wf across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.