CVE-2025-24406: Adobe Commerce Path Traversal Vulnerability

CVE-2025-24406 Overview

CVE-2025-24406 is a Path Traversal vulnerability affecting Adobe Commerce, Adobe Commerce B2B, and Magento Open Source platforms. This vulnerability allows an unauthenticated attacker to exploit improper limitation of pathname handling to modify files stored outside the restricted directory, effectively bypassing security features designed to contain file operations within safe boundaries.

The vulnerability exists in the file handling mechanisms of the affected e-commerce platforms, where insufficient validation of user-supplied path inputs enables attackers to escape the intended directory structure. This can lead to unauthorized modification of critical system files, configuration files, or application code without requiring any authentication or user interaction.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated attackers can modify arbitrary files outside restricted directories, potentially leading to complete compromise of the e-commerce platform, defacement, backdoor installation, or manipulation of business-critical data.

Affected Products

• Adobe Commerce versions 2.4.8-beta1, 2.4.7-p3, 2.4.6-p8, 2.4.5-p10, 2.4.4-p11 and earlier
• Adobe Commerce B2B versions 1.5.0, 1.4.2-p3, 1.3.5-p8, 1.3.4-p10, 1.3.3-p11 and earlier
• Magento Open Source versions 2.4.8-beta1, 2.4.7-p3, 2.4.6-p8, 2.4.5-p10, 2.4.4-p11 and earlier

Discovery Timeline

• February 11, 2025 - CVE-2025-24406 published to NVD
• April 17, 2025 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-24406

Vulnerability Analysis

This Path Traversal vulnerability (CWE-22) stems from improper validation of file path inputs within Adobe Commerce and related platforms. When processing file-related operations, the application fails to adequately sanitize user-controlled input that specifies file paths, allowing attackers to use directory traversal sequences such as ../ to navigate outside the intended directory scope.

The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it requires no authentication to exploit. An attacker with network access to the vulnerable e-commerce platform can craft malicious requests containing path traversal sequences to write or modify files in arbitrary locations on the server filesystem, subject to the permissions of the web server process.

The impact primarily affects file integrity rather than confidentiality or availability. Successful exploitation enables an attacker to modify files stored outside the restricted directory, which can be leveraged to inject malicious code into PHP files, alter configuration settings, or plant web shells for persistent access.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2025-24406 lies in insufficient input validation and path canonicalization within the file handling components of Adobe Commerce. The application does not properly restrict or sanitize pathname inputs to ensure they remain within the designated directory boundaries.

When user-supplied path data is passed to file system operations, the application fails to:

• Normalize and canonicalize the path before validation
• Strip or reject directory traversal sequences (../, ..\, encoded variants)
• Validate that the resolved path remains within the allowed directory tree

This allows attackers to break out of the restricted directory context and access or modify files elsewhere on the filesystem.

Attack Vector

The attack can be executed remotely over the network without any authentication. An attacker targets the vulnerable file handling endpoint with crafted requests containing path traversal payloads.

A typical exploitation scenario involves:

1. Identifying the vulnerable file handling functionality in the Adobe Commerce installation
2. Crafting HTTP requests with path traversal sequences in file path parameters (e.g., ../../../../etc/passwd or similar paths targeting writable locations)
3. Submitting the malicious request to write or modify files outside the restricted directory
4. Achieving security feature bypass by modifying configuration files, injecting malicious code, or creating backdoor files

The attack does not require user interaction, making it suitable for automated exploitation. Since the platform is typically internet-facing for e-commerce operations, exposure to this vulnerability represents significant risk.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-24406

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual file modifications in system directories, configuration files, or core application code outside designated upload areas
• Web server access logs showing requests with path traversal patterns such as ../, ..%2f, %2e%2e/, or similar encoded sequences
• New or modified PHP files in unexpected locations that may indicate web shell placement
• Changes to .htaccess, app/etc/env.php, or other configuration files outside normal administrative operations

Detection Strategies

• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block requests containing path traversal sequences in URL parameters, POST data, and headers
• Deploy file integrity monitoring (FIM) on critical application directories to alert on unauthorized modifications
• Configure intrusion detection systems (IDS) to identify HTTP requests matching path traversal attack patterns
• Review web server access logs for suspicious patterns indicating directory traversal attempts

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging for file operations within the Adobe Commerce application
• Set up real-time alerts for file modifications in protected directories using tools like OSSEC, Tripwire, or SentinelOne's file integrity monitoring capabilities
• Monitor for anomalous outbound connections from the web server that could indicate post-exploitation activity
• Implement centralized log aggregation to correlate potential attack patterns across multiple systems

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-24406

Immediate Actions Required

• Update Adobe Commerce, Commerce B2B, and Magento Open Source to the latest patched versions as specified in Adobe Security Bulletin APSB25-08
• Audit web server access logs for evidence of exploitation attempts prior to patching
• Perform file integrity checks to identify any unauthorized modifications that may have occurred before remediation
• Review and restrict file system permissions for the web server user to minimize the impact of potential exploitation

Patch Information

Adobe has released security updates addressing this vulnerability in Security Bulletin APSB25-08. Organizations should update to the following patched versions:

• Adobe Commerce: 2.4.8-beta2 or later security patches for supported versions
• Adobe Commerce B2B: Latest security patches as specified in the advisory
• Magento Open Source: 2.4.8-beta2 or later security patches for supported versions

Apply patches through the standard update process using Composer or the Adobe Commerce Cloud deployment pipeline. Testing in a staging environment before production deployment is recommended.

Workarounds

• Implement WAF rules to block requests containing path traversal sequences (../, encoded variants) targeting Adobe Commerce endpoints
• Restrict network access to the Adobe Commerce admin panel and sensitive file upload functionality to trusted IP addresses
• Configure web server directory restrictions using open_basedir in PHP configuration to limit filesystem access scope
• Enable additional monitoring and alerting for file system changes in critical directories until patches can be applied

# Example: PHP open_basedir configuration to restrict file access
# Add to php.ini or Apache/Nginx configuration for the site
php_admin_value[open_basedir] = /var/www/magento:/tmp:/var/lib/php/session

# Example: WAF rule pattern for path traversal detection (ModSecurity)
SecRule REQUEST_URI|ARGS|ARGS_NAMES "@rx \.\./" \
    "id:100001,phase:1,deny,status:403,msg:'Path Traversal Attempt'"