CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2020-36079 — Zenphoto through 1.5.7 is affected by authenticated arbitrary file upload, leading to remote code execution

High CVSS 7.2

Zenphoto through 1.5.7 is affected by authenticated arbitrary file upload, leading to remote code execution. The attacker must navigate to the uploader plugin, check the elFinder box, and then drag and drop files into the Files(elFinder) portion of the UI. This can, for example, place a .php file in the server's uploaded/ directory. NOTE: the vendor disputes this because exploitation can only be performed by an admin who has "lots of other possibilities to harm a site.

Severity
High
CVSS
7.2 (3.1)
Published
2021-02-26
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
software/application
Weaknesses
CWE-434

Affected products

  • zenphoto / zenphoto

Matched remediation archetype

Path traversal, unsafe upload, and file handling

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Check exposure

  • Trace untrusted filenames, archive entries, URLs, and path segments into read, write, include, extraction, and upload operations.
  • Identify filesystem roots, mount permissions, symbolic-link behavior, archive handling, and whether uploaded content is web-accessible or executable.
  • Review canonicalization and containment checks across supported operating systems and storage backends.

Remediate safely

  • Generate server-side storage identifiers and resolve paths beneath a fixed root using filesystem-aware containment checks.
  • Reject absolute, parent-relative, alternate-separator, device, link, and archive entries that escape the intended root.
  • Store uploads outside executable or served paths, validate type and size, and use private atomic temporary files.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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