#VU50172 Path traversal in Django - CVE-2021-3281

Vulnerability identifier: #VU50172

Vulnerability risk: High

CVSSv4.0: 8.2 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P/U:Amber]

CVE-ID: CVE-2021-3281

CWE-ID: CWE-22

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: Yes

Vulnerable software:
Django
Web applications / CMS

Vendor: Django Software Foundation

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to perform directory traversal attacks.

The vulnerability exists due to input validation error when processing directory traversal sequences inside archives with "django.utils.archive.extract()" function. A remote attacker can pass specially crafted archive to the application and write files to arbitrary directory on the system.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Django: 2.2 - 2.2.17, 3.0 - 3.1.5

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External links
https://www.djangoproject.com/weblog/2021/feb/01/security-releases/

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Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote non-authenticated attacker via the Internet.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability. However, proof of concept for this vulnerability is available.