Summary
Vendure asset server plugin has local file read vulnerability with AssetServerPlugin & LocalAssetStorageStrategy
Description
Path traversal
This vulnerability allows an attacker to craft a request which is able to traverse the server file system and retrieve the contents of arbitrary files, including sensitive data such as configuration files, environment variables, and other critical data stored on the server.
From Rajesh Sharma who discovered the vulnerability:
POC: curl --path-as-is http://localhost:3000/assets/../package.json gives you the content of package.json present in the local directory.
The vulnerability stems from usage of decodedReqPath directly in path.join without performing any path normalization i.e path.normalize in node.js
If the vendure service is behind some server like nginx, apache, etc. Path normalization is performed on the root server level but still the actual client's request path will be sent to vendure service but not the resultant normalized path. However, depending the type of root server one can try various payloads to bypass such normalization.
The reporter found a customer website which uses local asset plugin and using above mentioned vulnerability, and was able to find secrets like email credentials.
DOS via malformed URI
In the same code path is an additional vector for crashing the server via a malformed URI
Again from Rajesh:
There is also a potential Denial of Service (DoS) issue when incorrectly encoded URI characters are passed as part of the asset URL. When these malformed requests are processed, they can lead to system crashes or resource exhaustion, rendering the service unavailable to users.
Exploit: curl --path-as-is http://localhost:3000/assets/%80package.json , here %80 is not a valid url-encoded character hence the decodeURIComponent is called on it, the entire app crashes.
[:server] /Users/abc/mywork/vendure/packages/asset-server-plugin/src/plugin.ts:353
[:server] const decodedReqPath = decodeURIComponent(req.path);
[:server] ^
[:server] URIError: URI malformed
Workarounds
- Use object storage rather than the local file system, e.g. MinIO or S3
- Define middleware which detects and blocks requests with urls containing
/../
Impact
The application does not adequately validate input before processing it, allowing unexpected values to reach sensitive code paths. Typical impact: varies by context: data corruption, logic bypass, or denial of service.
CVE-2024-48914 has a CVSS score of 9.1 (Critical). The vector is network-reachable, no privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (2.3.3, 3.0.5); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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v3.0.5, v2.3.3
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2024-48914? CVE-2024-48914 is a critical-severity improper input validation vulnerability in @vendure/asset-server-plugin (npm), affecting versions < 2.3.3. It is fixed in 2.3.3, 3.0.5. The application does not adequately validate input before processing it, allowing unexpected values to reach sensitive code paths.
- How severe is CVE-2024-48914? CVE-2024-48914 has a CVSS score of 9.1 (Critical). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Which versions of @vendure/asset-server-plugin are affected by CVE-2024-48914? @vendure/asset-server-plugin (npm) versions < 2.3.3 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2024-48914? Yes. CVE-2024-48914 is fixed in 2.3.3, 3.0.5. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2024-48914 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2024-48914 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2024-48914 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
- How do I fix CVE-2024-48914?
- Upgrade
@vendure/asset-server-pluginto 2.3.3 or later - Upgrade
@vendure/asset-server-pluginto 3.0.5 or later
- Upgrade