CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2023-45868 — Ilias Ilias security vulnerability

High CVSS 8.1

The Learning Module in ILIAS 7.25 (2023-09-12 release) allows an attacker (with basic user privileges) to achieve a high-impact Directory Traversal attack on confidentiality and availability. By exploiting this network-based vulnerability, the attacker can move specified directories, normally outside the documentRoot, to a publicly accessible location via the PHP function rename(). This results in a total loss of confidentiality, exposing sensitive resources, and potentially denying access to the affected component and the operating system's components. To exploit this, an attacker must manipulate a POST request during the creation of an exercise unit, by modifying the old_name and new_name parameters via directory traversal. However, it's essential to note that, when exploiting this vulnerability, the specified directory will be relocated from its original location, rendering all files obtained from there unavailable.

Severity
High
CVSS
8.1 (3.1)
Published
2023-10-26
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
software/application
Weaknesses
CWE-22

Affected products

  • ilias / ilias / 7.25

Matched remediation archetype

Path traversal, unsafe upload, and file handling

This catalog composition supplies bounded fallback guidance. Explicitly reviewed curated workflows load with the complete record below.

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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