CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2020-9309 — Silverstripe Mimevalidator security vulnerability

High CVSS 8.8

Silverstripe CMS through 4.5 can be susceptible to script execution from malicious upload contents under allowed file extensions (for example HTML code in a TXT file). When these files are stored as protected or draft files, the MIME detection can cause browsers to execute the file contents. Uploads stored as protected or draft files are allowed by default for authorised users only, but can also be enabled through custom logic as well as modules such as silverstripe/userforms. Sites using the previously optional silverstripe/mimevalidator module can configure MIME whitelists rather than extension whitelists, and hence prevent this issue. Sites on the Common Web Platform (CWP) use this module by default, and are not affected.

Severity
High
CVSS
8.8 (3.1)
Published
2020-07-15
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
software/application
Weaknesses
CWE-434

Affected products

  • silverstripe / mimevalidator
  • silverstripe / recipe

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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