CVE-2024-0818: PaddlePaddle Path Traversal Vulnerability

CVE-2024-0818 Overview

CVE-2024-0818 is a critical path traversal vulnerability affecting PaddlePaddle, an open-source deep learning platform developed by Baidu. This vulnerability enables attackers to perform arbitrary file overwrites on target systems by exploiting improper sanitization of file paths. The flaw exists in versions of PaddlePaddle prior to version 2.6 and can be exploited remotely without authentication.

Critical Impact

This vulnerability allows unauthenticated remote attackers to overwrite arbitrary files on vulnerable systems, potentially leading to complete system compromise, denial of service, or code execution through overwriting critical system or application files.

Affected Products

• PaddlePaddle versions prior to 2.6
• All installations using vulnerable file handling functionality
• Systems running PaddlePaddle in network-accessible environments

Discovery Timeline

• 2024-03-07 - CVE-2024-0818 published to NVD
• 2025-01-23 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-0818

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability stems from a path traversal weakness (CWE-22) in PaddlePaddle's file handling mechanisms. When processing file paths, the application fails to properly validate and sanitize user-controlled input, allowing attackers to escape the intended directory structure using path traversal sequences such as ../ (dot-dot-slash).

This design flaw enables an attacker to specify file paths that traverse outside the expected working directory, reaching arbitrary locations on the filesystem. Combined with write operations, this allows overwriting of critical system files, configuration files, or application binaries. The attack can be conducted remotely over the network without requiring any authentication or user interaction, making it particularly dangerous in production environments.

The impact is twofold: high integrity impact due to the ability to modify arbitrary files, and high availability impact as critical system or application files can be destroyed or corrupted, leading to denial of service conditions.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2024-0818 is improper input validation in the file path handling logic within PaddlePaddle. The application accepts user-supplied file paths without adequately checking for or neutralizing directory traversal sequences. This allows malicious input containing sequences like ../ or absolute paths to bypass intended directory restrictions.

Specifically, the vulnerable code fails to implement proper path canonicalization, which would resolve the full path and verify it remains within the expected directory boundaries before performing file operations.

Attack Vector

The attack is network-based and requires no privileges or user interaction. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by:

1. Identifying an endpoint or function in PaddlePaddle that accepts file path input
2. Crafting a malicious request containing path traversal sequences (e.g., ../../../../etc/passwd or ..\..\..\..\Windows\System32\config)
3. Submitting the request to the vulnerable application
4. The application processes the malicious path without validation, resulting in file operations at the attacker-specified location

The vulnerability enables arbitrary file overwrite, which could be leveraged to achieve code execution by overwriting executable files, scheduled task configurations, or application code. It could also cause denial of service by corrupting critical system files or application data.

For technical details and proof-of-concept information, refer to the Huntr Bounty Report.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-0818

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual file modification timestamps in system directories or outside application-designated paths
• Log entries showing file operations with path traversal sequences (../, ..\\) in the path parameter
• Unexpected changes to critical system files or application binaries
• Failed integrity checks on configuration files or executables

Detection Strategies

• Monitor application logs for requests containing path traversal patterns such as ../, ..\\, or encoded variants like %2e%2e%2f
• Implement file integrity monitoring (FIM) on critical system and application directories to detect unauthorized modifications
• Deploy web application firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block path traversal attempts in incoming requests
• Use endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions to monitor for suspicious file write operations originating from PaddlePaddle processes

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable verbose logging for PaddlePaddle file operations and review logs for anomalous path patterns
• Configure alerting on file integrity monitoring solutions for changes to sensitive directories
• Monitor network traffic for requests to PaddlePaddle services containing suspicious path components
• Implement application-level logging that captures all file path inputs before processing

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-0818

Immediate Actions Required

• Upgrade PaddlePaddle to version 2.6 or later immediately
• If immediate patching is not possible, restrict network access to PaddlePaddle services using firewall rules
• Review system and application files for signs of unauthorized modification
• Implement network segmentation to limit the potential impact of exploitation

Patch Information

The vulnerability has been addressed in PaddlePaddle version 2.6. Organizations should upgrade to this version or later to remediate the vulnerability. The fix implements proper path validation and canonicalization to prevent directory traversal attacks.

For additional details, refer to the Huntr Bounty Report.

Workarounds

• Restrict network access to PaddlePaddle installations to trusted networks and IP addresses only
• Deploy a web application firewall with rules to block requests containing path traversal sequences
• Run PaddlePaddle services with minimal filesystem permissions using principle of least privilege
• Implement application-level input validation to reject file paths containing ../ or absolute path references

# Example: Restrict network access to PaddlePaddle service using iptables
# Allow only trusted network to access PaddlePaddle port (example: 8080)
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 8080 -s 10.0.0.0/24 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 8080 -j DROP