@backstage/plugin-techdocs-node vulnerable to possible Path Traversal in TechDocs Local Generator

Impact

A path traversal vulnerability in the TechDocs local generator allows attackers to read arbitrary files from the host filesystem when Backstage is configured with techdocs.generator.runIn: local.

When processing documentation from untrusted sources, symlinks within the docs directory are followed by MkDocs during the build process. File contents are embedded into generated HTML and exposed to users who can view the documentation.

Patches

This vulnerability is fixed in @backstage/plugin-techdocs-node version X.X.X. Users should upgrade to this version or later.

Workarounds

• Switch to runIn: docker in your app-config.yaml:

  techdocs:
    generator:
      runIn: docker

• Restrict write access to TechDocs source repositories to trusted users only

References

• https://backstage.io/docs/features/techdocs/configuration