CVE-2025-70028: SunbirdEd-portal Path Traversal Flaw

CVE-2025-70028 Overview

CVE-2025-70028 is a Path Traversal vulnerability (CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory) discovered in Sunbird-Ed SunbirdEd-portal version 1.13.4. This vulnerability allows an unauthenticated attacker to manipulate file paths, potentially accessing files outside the intended directory structure, which can lead to denial of service conditions.

Critical Impact

This high-severity path traversal vulnerability can be exploited remotely without authentication, potentially causing service disruption through denial of service attacks.

Affected Products

• Sunbird-Ed SunbirdEd-portal v1.13.4

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-03-09 - CVE-2025-70028 published to NVD
• 2026-03-11 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-70028

Vulnerability Analysis

This path traversal vulnerability occurs due to improper limitation of pathname handling within the SunbirdEd-portal application. The application fails to adequately sanitize user-supplied input when processing file paths, allowing attackers to navigate outside the intended directory boundaries using sequences such as ../ (dot-dot-slash).

The vulnerability is exploitable over the network without requiring any authentication or user interaction. While the confidentiality and integrity impacts are not present in this specific vulnerability, the availability impact is classified as high, indicating that successful exploitation can result in complete denial of service to the affected portal.

SunbirdEd-portal is an open-source learning management portal that is part of the Sunbird education platform initiative. Organizations using this platform for educational content delivery may be at risk of service disruption if running the vulnerable version.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is the lack of proper input validation and sanitization when handling file path parameters. The application does not adequately restrict or filter path traversal sequences (e.g., ../, ..\\, or encoded variants) from user-controlled input before using them to construct file system paths.

This allows malicious input to escape the intended directory context and potentially access or manipulate resources at arbitrary file system locations, leading to denial of service conditions.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based, meaning an attacker can exploit this vulnerability remotely. The attack requires low complexity and does not require any privileges or user interaction. An attacker can craft malicious HTTP requests containing path traversal sequences to manipulate file path resolution.

The exploitation mechanism typically involves:

1. Identifying an endpoint that accepts file path parameters
2. Injecting directory traversal sequences to navigate outside restricted directories
3. Targeting system resources or configurations that can cause service disruption when accessed inappropriately

A proof-of-concept demonstrating the exploitation technique is available at the GitHub Gist PoC.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-70028

Indicators of Compromise

• HTTP requests containing path traversal sequences such as ../, ..%2f, %2e%2e/, or ..\\ in URL parameters or request bodies
• Unusual access patterns to endpoints that handle file operations
• Server errors or crashes associated with file access operations
• Log entries showing attempts to access files outside the web application's document root

Detection Strategies

• Configure web application firewalls (WAF) to detect and block requests containing common path traversal patterns
• Implement intrusion detection system (IDS) rules to alert on directory traversal attempts
• Monitor application logs for suspicious file path access attempts
• Deploy SentinelOne Singularity XDR for behavioral detection of path traversal exploitation attempts

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable verbose logging on the SunbirdEd-portal application to capture all file access requests
• Set up alerts for HTTP 500 errors or unusual response patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts
• Monitor system resource utilization for unexpected spikes that could indicate denial of service attacks
• Review web server access logs regularly for patterns consistent with automated scanning tools

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-70028

Immediate Actions Required

• Audit your environment for instances of SunbirdEd-portal version 1.13.4
• Implement web application firewall rules to block path traversal sequences
• Review and restrict file system permissions for the application service account
• Monitor for exploitation attempts using the detection strategies outlined above

Patch Information

Organizations should monitor the SunbirdEd Portal GitHub Repository for official security patches and updates addressing this vulnerability. Review the repository's security advisories and release notes for remediation guidance from the maintainers.

Workarounds

• Deploy a reverse proxy or web application firewall with rules to sanitize and validate path parameters
• Implement server-side input validation to reject requests containing path traversal sequences
• Restrict the application's file system access using chroot jails or containerization
• Consider temporarily restricting network access to the affected portal until a patch is available

# Example WAF rule for blocking path traversal attempts (ModSecurity format)
SecRule REQUEST_URI|REQUEST_BODY "@rx \.\.[\\/]" \
    "id:1000001,\
    phase:2,\
    deny,\
    status:403,\
    log,\
    msg:'Path Traversal Attempt Blocked - CVE-2025-70028'"