# CVE-2020-15097: Path Traversal in loklak

> Attackers can read and write arbitrary files on the server via path traversal in loklak APIs, requiring an upgrade to secure hosted instances.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 2 Feb 2021
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-7557-4v29-rqw6

## What is CVE-2020-15097?

CVE-2020-15097 is a critical path traversal vulnerability in loklak, published on 2 Feb 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

loklak is an open-source server application which is able to collect messages from various sources, including twitter. The server contains a search index and a peer-to-peer index sharing interface. All messages are stored in an elasticsearch index. In loklak less than or equal to commit 5f48476, a path traversal vulnerability exists. Insufficient input validation in the APIs exposed by the loklak server allowed a directory traversal vulnerability. Any admin configuration and files readable by the app available on the hosted file system can be retrieved by the attacker. Furthermore, user-controlled content could be written to any admin config and files readable by the application. This has been patched in commit 50dd692. Users will need to upgrade their hosted instances of loklak to not be vulnerable to this exploit.

Weakness: CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-15097?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Loklak Project Loklak.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-15097?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-15097 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-15097 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-15097 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-15097 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-15097 is a critical path traversal vulnerability in loklak, published on 2 Feb 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-15097 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: loklak. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-15097/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-15097/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-15097
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-15097
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-15097

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-15097/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.