GHSL-2020-254: Arbitrary file read and/or write in dotmesh

published 2024-05-14 2 y ago modified 2026-06-17 4 mo ago also GHSA-hf54-fq2m-p9v6 , GO-2024-2849 , EUVD-2024-1644

cvss: 8.1; version 3.1, CNA
cisa kev: Not listed; not in CISA's catalog
epss: 0.4%; EPSS 0.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 38%
public exploits: 0; none known

Dotmesh is a git-like command-line interface for capturing, organizing and sharing application states. In versions 0.8.1 and prior, the unsafe handling of symbolic links in an unpacking routine may enable attackers to read and/or write to arbitrary locations outside the designated target folder. The routine `untarFile` attempts to guard against creating symbolic links that point outside the directory a tar archive is extracted to. However, a malicious tarball first linking `subdir/parent` to `..` (allowed, because `subdir/..` falls within the archive root) and then linking `subdir/parent/escapes` to `..` results in a symbolic link pointing to the tarball’s parent directory, contrary to the routine’s goals. This issue may lead to arbitrary file write (with same permissions as the program running the unpack operation) if the attacker can control the archive file. Additionally, if the attacker has read access to the unpacked files, they may be able to read arbitrary system files the parent process has permissions to read. As of time of publication, no patch for this issue is available.

CISA SSVC

Exploitation: Proof of concept is public
Automatable: no
Technical impact: total
Assessed: 2 y ago (2024-05-15)

Exploit prediction

0.44% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 38% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).

CVSS scores

assigned by	version	score	vector
CNA	3.1	8.1	CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
GitHub	3.1	8.1	CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

Affected packages

ecosystem	package	affected	fixed in
go	github.com/dotmesh-io/dotmesh	<=0.8.1 all versions	no fix listed

Affected products

dotmesh-io dotmesh

Classification

Weakness

CWE-787 Out-of-bounds Write
CWE-125 Out-of-bounds Read

References

Sources

Fencer Vulns keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.

Summary