CVE-2026-53553 in Goploy
Summary
by MITRE • 08/31/2026
Goploy is an open-source automation deployment system. Prior to version 1.18.0, a severe path traversal vulnerability exists in its backend API endpoints, specifically /deploy/fileDiff (File Compare), when handling file paths provided by the client. This issue has been patched in version 1.18.0.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/31/2026
Goploy is an open-source automation deployment system designed to streamline software delivery pipelines and infrastructure management tasks. The vulnerability identified prior to version 1.18.0 resides within the backend API endpoints, specifically targeting the /deploy/fileDiff endpoint which facilitates file comparison operations. This component accepts user-supplied input in the form of file paths to determine differences between files during deployment processes or configuration audits. In versions preceding the patch, the application failed to adequately sanitize or validate these path inputs before processing them against the underlying operating system's filesystem hierarchy.
The core technical flaw is a classic Path Traversal vulnerability, categorized under CWE-22 in the Common Weakness Enumeration standards. This weakness occurs when an application uses user-supplied input to construct file paths without properly restricting access to resources outside of the intended directory structure. By manipulating the input string with sequences such as dot-dot-slash (../) or encoded equivalents, a malicious actor can escape the designated working directories and traverse up the filesystem tree. This lack of strict path normalization allows an attacker to reference arbitrary files on the server hosting the Goploy instance, regardless of their location in the directory hierarchy.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant due to the typical privileges held by deployment systems. Since automation tools often run with elevated permissions necessary to manage services and deploy code, successful exploitation could allow an unauthenticated or low-privileged user to read sensitive configuration files, source code repositories, environment variables containing secrets, or other critical system data residing on the host machine. This constitutes a severe information disclosure risk that can lead further into lateral movement within the network if attackers leverage stolen credentials found in these exposed files. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1083, which involves File and Directory Discovery, as it enables an adversary to enumerate and access sensitive data stored on local systems through API manipulation rather than direct shell access.
Mitigation strategies primarily involve upgrading the Goploy instance to version 1.18.0 or later where this issue has been resolved by implementing robust input validation and path canonicalization checks. Administrators should ensure that all file paths are normalized using standard library functions before being passed to filesystem operations, ensuring they remain within a predefined safe base directory. Additionally, deploying the application with least-privilege principles is recommended; running the backend service under a restricted user account limits the potential damage even if an exploitation attempt succeeds. Network-level controls such as Web Application Firewalls can also provide supplementary protection by detecting and blocking common path traversal patterns in HTTP requests targeting sensitive endpoints like /deploy/fileDiff until permanent patches are applied.