CVE-2021-41381 in Micro Community
Summary
by MITRE • 09/24/2021
Payara Micro Community 5.2021.6 and below allows Directory Traversal.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/28/2024
CVE-2021-41381 represents a directory traversal vulnerability affecting Payara Micro Community versions 5.2021.6 and earlier, which constitutes a critical security flaw under the Common Weakness Enumeration framework as CWE-22. This vulnerability enables attackers to access files and directories outside the intended scope of the application by manipulating input parameters that are processed without proper validation. The flaw specifically manifests when the application fails to sanitize user-supplied input that influences file system operations, allowing malicious actors to traverse directory structures and potentially access sensitive system resources.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation within the file handling mechanisms of Payara Micro Community. When users provide crafted input through web requests or API endpoints, the application processes these inputs directly without proper sanitization or normalization, creating opportunities for attackers to exploit path traversal sequences such as ../ or ..\ to access files outside the designated web root or application directory. This weakness aligns with ATT&CK technique T1083 which describes discovery of file and directory permissions, and T1566 which covers the initial access phase through malicious file execution or content manipulation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it can lead to complete system compromise when combined with other attack vectors. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could potentially access application configuration files, database credentials, source code repositories, or even system-level files that contain sensitive information. The implications are particularly severe in containerized environments or cloud deployments where Payara Micro Community might be running with elevated privileges, as the traversal could expose not only application data but also underlying system resources and other deployed services.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2021-41381 should prioritize immediate patching of affected Payara Micro Community installations to versions 5.2021.7 or later, which contain the necessary security fixes. Organizations should also implement input validation controls at multiple layers including web application firewalls, API gateways, and application-level sanitization routines. The implementation of proper path normalization and canonicalization techniques can prevent malicious path sequences from being processed, while principle of least privilege access controls should be enforced to limit the damage potential even if traversal attacks succeed. Additionally, regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other components of the application stack, as directory traversal issues often indicate broader input validation weaknesses that require comprehensive remediation approaches.