GeoServer arbitrary file upload vulnerability in REST Coverage Store API

Vulnerability Description

GeoServer is an open source software server written in Java that allows users to share and edit geospatial data. An arbitrary file upload vulnerability exists in versions prior to 2.23.4 and 2.24.1 that enables an authenticated administrator with permissions to modify coverage stores through the REST Coverage Store API to upload arbitrary file contents to arbitrary file locations which can lead to remote code execution. Coverage stores that are configured using relative paths use a GeoServer Resource implementation that has validation to prevent path traversal but coverage stores that are configured using absolute paths use a different Resource implementation that does not prevent path traversal. This vulnerability can lead to executing arbitrary code. An administrator with limited privileges could also potentially exploit this to overwrite GeoServer security files and obtain full administrator privileges. Versions 2.23.4 and 2.24.1 contain a fix for this issue.

References

• https://github.com/geoserver/geoserver/security/advisories/GHSA-9v5q-2gwq-q9hq
• https://github.com/geoserver/geoserver/pull/7222
• https://github.com/geoserver/geoserver/commit/ca683170c669718cb6ad4c79e01b0451065e13b8
• https://github.com/geoserver/geoserver/commit/fe235b3bb1d7f05751a4a2ef5390c36f5c9e78ae
• https://osgeo-org.atlassian.net/browse/GEOS-11176