CVE-2021-39180 Path Traversal in Archive Handling Leading to Code Execution
Authenticated attackers can exploit path traversal in ZIP handling to overwrite files and potentially execute code on the server.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2021-39180?
CVE-2021-39180 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in OpenOLAT, published on 31 Aug 2021. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
OpenOLAT is a web-based learning management system (LMS). A path traversal vulnerability exists in versions prior to 15.3.18, 15.5.3, and 16.0.0. Using a specially prepared ZIP file, it is possible to overwrite any file that is writable by the application server user (e.g. the tomcat user). Depending on the configuration this can be limited to files of the OpenOlat user data directory, however, if not properly set up, the attack could also be used to overwrite application server config files, java code or even operating system files. The attack could be used to corrupt or modify any OpenOlat file such as course structures, config files or temporary test data. Those attack would require in-depth knowledge of the installation and thus more theoretical. If the app server configuration allows the execution of jsp files and the path to the context is known, it is also possible to execute java code. If the app server runs with the same user that is used to deploy the OpenOlat code or has write permissions on the OpenOlat code files and the path to the context is know, code injection is possible. The attack requires an OpenOlat user account to upload a ZIP file and trigger the unzip method. It can not be exploited by unregistered users. The problem is fixed in versions 15.3.18, 15.5.3 and 16.0.0. There are no known workarounds aside from upgrading.
Weakness: CWE-22
Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-39180?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Frentix Openolat.
How do I fix CVE-2021-39180?
No fix has been published for CVE-2021-39180 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Upgrade, and resolve every user-supplied path against an allowed base folder before opening it. More about Path traversal.
Is CVE-2021-39180 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-39180 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in OpenOLAT
- CVE-2026-31946 OpenOLAT: Authentication bypass via forged JWT in OIDC implicit flow
- CVE-2026-28228 OpenOLAT: Server-Side Template Injection (SSTI) in Velocity templates allows Remote Code Execution
- CVE-2021-39181 Unsafe Deserialization of User Data Using XStream
- CVE-2021-41242 Path Traversal in some REST methods leading to file upload to arbitrary places
- CVE-2021-41152 Path Traversal in Folder Component Leading to Local File Inclusion
Sources
Also known as GHSA-x95v-2pgj-9x8j.