grav Server-side Template Injection (SSTI) mitigation bypass

Description

Summary

The fix for SSTI using |map, |filter and |reduce twigs implemented in the commit 71bbed1 introduces bypass of the denylist due to incorrect return value from isDangerousFunction(), which allows to execute the payload prepending double backslash (\\)

Details

The isDangerousFunction() check in version 1.7.42 and onwards retuns false value instead of true when the \ symbol is found in the $name.

...
        if (strpos($name, "\\") !== false) {
            return false;
        }

        if (in_array($name, $commandExecutionFunctions)) {
            return true;
        }
...

Based on the code where the function is used, it is expected that any dangerous condition would return true

    /**
     * @param Environment $env
     * @param array $array
     * @param callable|string $arrow
     * @return array|CallbackFilterIterator
     * @throws RuntimeError
     */
    function mapFunc(Environment $env, $array, $arrow)
    {
        if (!$arrow instanceof \Closure && !is_string($arrow) || Utils::isDangerousFunction($arrow)) {
            throw new RuntimeError('Twig |map("' . $arrow . '") is not allowed.');
    }

when |map('\system') is used in the malicious payload, the single backslash is dropped prior to reaching strpos($name, '\\') check, thus $name variable already has no backslash, and the command is blacklisted because it reaches the if (in_array($name, $commandExecutionFunctions)) { validation step.

However if |map('\\system') is used (i.e. double backslash), then the strpos($name, "\\") !== false takes effect, and isDangerousFunction() returns false , in which case the RuntimeError is not generated, and blacklist is bypassed leading to code execution.

Exploit Conditions

This vulnerability can be exploited if the attacker has access to:

  1. an Administrator account, or
  2. a non-administrator, user account that has Admin panel access and Create/Update page permissions

Steps to reproduce

  1. Log in to Grav Admin using an administrator account.
  2. Navigate to Accounts > Add, and ensure that the following permissions are assigned when creating a new low-privileged user:
    • Login to Admin - Allowed
    • Page Update - Allowed
  3. Log out of Grav Admin
  4. Login using the account created in step 2.
  5. Choose Pages -> Home
  6. Click the Advanced tab and select the checkbox beside Twig to ensure that Twig processing is enabled for the modified webpage.
  7. Under the Content tab, insert the following payload within the editor:
    {{ ['id'] | map('\\system') | join() }}
  8. Click the Preview button. Observe that the output of the id shell command is returned in the preview.

Mitigation

diff --git a/system/src/Grav/Common/Utils.php b/system/src/Grav/Common/Utils.php
index 2f121bbe3..7b267cd0f 100644
--- a/system/src/Grav/Common/Utils.php
+++ b/system/src/Grav/Common/Utils.php
@@ -2069,7 +2069,7 @@ abstract class Utils
         }

         if (strpos($name, "\\") !== false) {
-            return false;
+            return true;
         }

         if (in_array($name, $commandExecutionFunctions)) {

Basic information

Type
reviewed
Severity
high
Advisory on GitHub
Open advisory ↗
Repository advisory
Open repository advisory ↗
Source code
Browse source ↗
Published (advisory)
2023-07-19 22:11:07 UTC
Updated
2023-11-10 05:03:41 UTC
GitHub reviewed
2023-07-19 22:11:07 UTC
NVD published
2023-07-18

EPSS Score

Score Percentile
0.12% 30.40%

CVSS Scores

Base score Version Severity Vector
7.2 3.1
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:H)
They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

Identifiers

CWEs

CWE id Name
CWE-74 Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component ('Injection')
CWE-393 Return of Wrong Status Code

Credits

  • s4ex (reporter)
  • Malayke (analyst)

Affected packages (1)

Vulnerable version ranges and first patched releases as published by GitHub.

Ecosystem Package Vulnerable range First patched Vulnerable functions
composer getgrav/grav <= 1.7.42.1 1.7.42.2

References

cvelogic Threat Intelligence