CVE-2016-10726 in DSpace
Summary
by MITRE
The XMLUI feature in DSpace before 3.6, 4.x before 4.5, and 5.x before 5.5 allows directory traversal via the themes/ path in an attack with two or more arbitrary characters and a colon before a pathname, as demonstrated by a themes/Reference/aa:etc/passwd URI.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/06/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-10726 represents a critical directory traversal flaw within the XMLUI component of DSpace, a widely-used open-source digital repository platform. This vulnerability affects multiple versions of the software including DSpace 3.x before 3.6, 4.x before 4.5, and 5.x before 5.5, creating a significant security risk for organizations relying on this repository management system. The flaw specifically manifests in the themes/ path handling mechanism where the system fails to properly validate and sanitize user input, allowing malicious actors to access arbitrary files on the underlying file system.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through a carefully crafted URI structure that includes two or more arbitrary characters followed by a colon and then a pathname. The demonstration case shows how an attacker can construct a URI such as themes/Reference/aa:etc/passwd to access sensitive system files like the passwd file. This technique bypasses normal access controls because the XMLUI feature does not properly validate the colon character as a path separator, allowing it to be interpreted as part of the file path rather than as a delimiter. The vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and path traversal protection mechanisms within the DSpace XMLUI framework, which should have implemented proper sanitization of user-provided paths before attempting to resolve them.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple file access, as it can potentially expose sensitive system information, configuration files, and other privileged data that may contain credentials, system configurations, or other confidential information. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to gain unauthorized access to critical system components, potentially leading to privilege escalation, data exfiltration, or further exploitation of the underlying system. Organizations using affected versions of DSpace face significant risk of unauthorized access to their digital repositories, which could compromise the integrity and confidentiality of their stored digital assets. The vulnerability affects the core functionality of the repository system, potentially disrupting normal operations while simultaneously providing attackers with unauthorized access to system resources.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should include immediate patching of affected DSpace installations to versions 3.6, 4.5, or 5.5 respectively, which contain the necessary fixes for the directory traversal issue. Organizations should also implement additional security controls such as input validation at multiple layers, proper path sanitization, and restrictive file system permissions to limit access to sensitive files. Network segmentation and access controls should be enforced to limit exposure of the XMLUI interface to trusted users only. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-22, which describes improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory, and represents a classic example of path traversal attacks that are frequently exploited in web application security breaches. This issue also maps to ATT&CK technique T1083, which covers file and directory discovery, as attackers can use such vulnerabilities to enumerate system resources. Regular security audits and input validation testing should be implemented to prevent similar vulnerabilities from emerging in other components of the DSpace platform or related systems.