CVE-2025-53358
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in kotaemon allows attackers to perform directory traversal attacks by submitting malicious file paths containing sequences like '../../../../../.env'. This enables unauthorized access to sensitive files on the server. Users running kotaemon versions 0.10.6 and earlier are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- kotaemon
⚠️ Manual Verification Required
This CVE does not have specific version information in our database, so automatic vulnerability detection cannot determine if your system is affected.
Why? The CVE database entry doesn't specify which versions are vulnerable (no version ranges provided by the vendor/NVD).
🔒 Custom verification scripts are available for registered users. Sign up free to download automated test scripts.
- Review the CVE details at NVD
- Check vendor security advisories for your specific version
- Test if the vulnerability is exploitable in your environment
- Consider updating to the latest version as a precaution
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete server compromise through exfiltration of sensitive files like SSH keys, database credentials, configuration files, and system secrets.
Likely Case
Exfiltration of application secrets, configuration files, and sensitive user data stored on the server filesystem.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper input validation and file system permissions restricting access to sensitive directories.
🎯 Exploit Status
Directory traversal is a well-known attack pattern with simple exploitation requiring only path manipulation.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 0.10.7
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/Cinnamon/kotaemon/security/advisories/GHSA-jw4w-xcvf-jq5x
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Update kotaemon to version 0.10.7 or later. 2. Apply commit 37cdc28ceb46e505d25221584daf1fe61e26b2cc. 3. Restart the kotaemon service.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Input Validation Filter
allImplement server-side validation to reject file paths containing directory traversal sequences
Implement regex filter: if re.search(r'\.\.(/|\\)', file_path): reject_input()
File System Sandboxing
linuxRun kotaemon in a container or chroot jail with restricted file system access
docker run -v /safe/path:/app/data kotaemon:tag
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Disable file upload/indexing functionality in kotaemon configuration
- Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to block directory traversal patterns
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check if running kotaemon version 0.10.6 or earlier and if file upload accepts paths with '../' sequencesCheck Version:
pip show kotaemon | grep VersionVerify Fix Applied:
Test that submitting paths with '../' sequences are rejected and verify version is 0.10.7+📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- File access attempts with '../' patterns in paths
- Unauthorized file access errors in application logs
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests containing '../' sequences in file parameters
SIEM Query:
source="kotaemon.logs" AND "../"