Riverbed SteelHead VCX Authenticated Arbitrary File Read via Log Filter Injection

published 2025-07-10 15 mo ago modified 2026-06-17 4 mo ago also EUVD-2025-21035

cvss: 7.1; version 4.0, CNA
cisa kev: Not listed; not in CISA's catalog
epss: 1.3%; EPSS 1.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 69%
public exploits: 1; Metasploit

A path traversal vulnerability exists in Riverbed SteelHead VCX appliances (confirmed in VCX255U 9.6.0a) due to improper input validation in the log filtering functionality exposed via the management web interface. An authenticated attacker can exploit this flaw by submitting crafted filter expressions to the log_filter endpoint using the filterStr parameter. This input is processed by a backend parser that permits execution of file expansion syntax, allowing the attacker to retrieve arbitrary system files via the log viewing interface.

Timeline

2017-06-01 First public exploit (Metasploit auxiliary/scanner/http/riverbed_steelhead_vcx_file_read)
2025-07-10 Published

CISA SSVC

Exploitation: none
Automatable: no
Technical impact: partial
Assessed: 15 mo ago (2025-07-10)

Exploit prediction

1.27% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 69% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).

Exploits and checks

Metasploit auxiliary/scanner/http/riverbed_steelhead_vcx_file_read Riverbed SteelHead VCX File Read metasploit auxiliary, normal rank, 2017-06-01
raw.githubusercontent.com https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/master/modules/auxiliary/scanner/http/riverbed_steelhead_vcx_file_read.rb referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified
exploit-db.com https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/42101 referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified

CVSS scores

assigned by	version	score	vector
CNA	4.0	7.1	CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
CNA	4.0	7.1	CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

Affected products

Riverbed Technology SteelHead VCX

Classification

Weakness

CWE-200 Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor

References

Sources

CVE List CVE-2025-34098
NVD CVE-2025-34098

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Summary