CVE-2025-6925: Ruoyi-vue-plus Path Traversal Vulnerability

CVE-2025-6925 Overview

A path traversal vulnerability has been identified in Dromara RuoYi-Vue-Plus version 5.4.0, affecting the Mail Handler component. This vulnerability exists in the MailController.java file located at /src/main/java/org/dromara/demo/controller/MailController.java. The flaw allows remote attackers to manipulate the filePath argument to traverse directories and potentially access sensitive files outside the intended directory structure. The exploit has been publicly disclosed, and the vendor was contacted but did not respond.

Critical Impact

Remote attackers can exploit this path traversal vulnerability to read arbitrary files on the server, potentially exposing configuration files, credentials, and other sensitive data stored on the affected system.

Affected Products

• Dromara RuoYi-Vue-Plus version 5.4.0

Discovery Timeline

• June 30, 2025 - CVE-2025-6925 published to NVD
• September 16, 2025 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-6925

Vulnerability Analysis

This path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22) affects the Mail Handler functionality in Dromara RuoYi-Vue-Plus, a popular enterprise rapid development platform. The vulnerable component resides in MailController.java, where the filePath parameter is not properly sanitized before being used in file operations.

Path traversal attacks exploit insufficient input validation to break out of the intended directory structure. When an application uses user-supplied input to construct file paths without proper sanitization, attackers can inject special character sequences such as ../ (dot-dot-slash) to navigate to parent directories and access files outside the web root or designated upload directories.

The vulnerability can be exploited remotely over the network without authentication, requiring no user interaction. While the impact is currently assessed as limited to confidentiality breaches (reading unauthorized files), successful exploitation could expose sensitive configuration files, database credentials, API keys, or other critical system information.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is improper input validation in the MailController.java file. The application fails to sanitize or validate the filePath argument before using it in file system operations. This allows attackers to inject directory traversal sequences that escape the intended directory boundaries. The lack of path canonicalization and boundary checking enables the manipulation of file paths to access arbitrary locations on the file system.

Attack Vector

This vulnerability is exploitable remotely over the network (AV:N) with low attack complexity (AC:L). The attack requires no privileges (PR:N) and no user interaction (UI:N). An attacker can craft malicious HTTP requests to the Mail Handler endpoint, manipulating the filePath parameter with directory traversal sequences to read files from arbitrary locations on the server.

The attack flow typically involves:

1. Identifying the vulnerable endpoint in the Mail Handler component
2. Crafting a request with path traversal sequences in the filePath parameter (e.g., ../../../etc/passwd)
3. Submitting the malicious request to the server
4. Reading the contents of unauthorized files from the server response

For detailed reproduction steps, refer to the GitHub Steps to Reproduce documentation.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-6925

Indicators of Compromise

• HTTP requests to the Mail Handler endpoint containing path traversal sequences such as ../, ..%2f, or ..%252f in the filePath parameter
• Server logs showing access to files outside the web application's intended directory structure
• Unusual file access patterns targeting system configuration files like /etc/passwd, web.xml, or application properties files
• Error messages or responses containing unexpected file content or system information

Detection Strategies

• Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block path traversal patterns in HTTP request parameters
• Configure intrusion detection systems (IDS) to alert on requests containing encoded directory traversal sequences
• Review web server access logs for suspicious patterns involving the MailController endpoint
• Enable file integrity monitoring on sensitive system and configuration files to detect unauthorized access attempts

Monitoring Recommendations

• Monitor network traffic for requests to /src/main/java/org/dromara/demo/controller/MailController.java endpoints with suspicious parameters
• Set up alerts for file access events involving sensitive directories outside the application's designated paths
• Implement centralized logging with correlation rules to identify exploitation attempts across multiple systems
• Review application logs for error messages indicating failed file access attempts that may indicate reconnaissance activity

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-6925

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict access to the Mail Handler functionality until a patch is available
• Implement input validation at the web server or WAF level to block requests containing path traversal sequences
• Review and audit file access permissions to ensure the application runs with minimal required privileges
• Monitor systems for indicators of compromise and investigate any suspicious activity

Patch Information

As of the last update on September 16, 2025, the vendor (Dromara) has not released an official patch for this vulnerability. The vendor was contacted during responsible disclosure but did not respond. Organizations should monitor the GitHub PoC Report and VulDB entry for updates on available fixes.

Workarounds

• Deploy a web application firewall (WAF) with rules to filter path traversal patterns including ../, URL-encoded variants, and double-encoded sequences
• Implement input validation at the application layer to whitelist acceptable characters and patterns for the filePath parameter
• Consider disabling or removing the vulnerable Mail Handler component if it is not essential to business operations
• Use network segmentation to limit access to the affected application from untrusted networks

# Example WAF rule to block path traversal attempts (ModSecurity format)
SecRule ARGS "@contains ../" "id:100001,phase:2,deny,status:403,msg:'Path Traversal Attempt Detected'"
SecRule ARGS "@contains ..%2f" "id:100002,phase:2,deny,status:403,msg:'Encoded Path Traversal Attempt Detected'"
SecRule ARGS "@contains ..%252f" "id:100003,phase:2,deny,status:403,msg:'Double Encoded Path Traversal Attempt Detected'"