CVE-2026-1018: Police Statistics Database Path Traversal

CVE-2026-1018 Overview

The Police Statistics Database System developed by Gotac contains an Arbitrary File Read vulnerability that allows unauthenticated remote attackers to exploit Absolute Path Traversal to download arbitrary system files. This vulnerability enables attackers to access sensitive files on the affected system without requiring any authentication, potentially exposing confidential police statistics data, configuration files, and system credentials.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated attackers can remotely read arbitrary system files through path traversal, potentially exposing sensitive law enforcement data, configuration files, and credentials without any authentication requirements.

Affected Products

• Police Statistics Database System developed by Gotac

Discovery Timeline

• January 16, 2026 - CVE-2026-1018 published to NVD
• January 16, 2026 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-1018

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-36 (Absolute Path Traversal), which occurs when an application uses external input to construct a pathname that should be within a restricted directory, but fails to properly neutralize absolute path sequences that can resolve to a location outside of that directory. In this case, the Police Statistics Database System does not properly validate user-supplied file paths, allowing attackers to bypass directory restrictions entirely.

The vulnerability is particularly severe because it requires no authentication and can be exploited remotely over the network. An attacker can craft malicious requests containing absolute path sequences to read any file accessible to the application's process on the target system. This could include sensitive configuration files such as /etc/passwd, database connection strings, application configuration files, or even the police statistics data itself.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability lies in insufficient input validation within the file access functionality of the Police Statistics Database System. The application fails to properly sanitize or validate user-supplied file paths before using them in file system operations. Specifically, the system does not:

• Validate that requested file paths remain within the intended directory structure
• Neutralize absolute path sequences (paths starting with / or drive letters like C:\)
• Implement proper access controls on file retrieval endpoints

This allows attackers to specify arbitrary absolute paths in their requests, bypassing any directory-based restrictions the application may have intended to enforce.

Attack Vector

The attack vector for this vulnerability is network-based and requires no user interaction or authentication. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by sending specially crafted HTTP requests to the vulnerable application endpoint. The requests would contain absolute path sequences targeting sensitive files on the system.

For example, an attacker might manipulate file path parameters in the application's URL or request body to include absolute paths such as /etc/passwd on Linux systems or C:\Windows\System32\config\SAM on Windows systems. Since the application does not validate these paths, it would read and return the contents of these files to the attacker.

The vulnerability mechanism involves manipulating file download or file access parameters within the application. Attackers craft requests that replace expected relative file paths with absolute system paths, causing the application to read arbitrary files outside its intended directory scope. For detailed technical information, refer to the TWCert Security Advisory.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-1018

Indicators of Compromise

• HTTP requests containing absolute path sequences targeting system files (e.g., /etc/passwd, /etc/shadow, C:\Windows\System32\config\)
• Unusual file access patterns in web server logs showing attempts to read files outside the application directory
• Requests with file path parameters containing sequences like ../, /, or Windows drive letters in unexpected locations
• Access log entries showing successful retrieval of sensitive system files

Detection Strategies

• Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block requests containing path traversal patterns
• Monitor application and web server logs for requests with absolute path sequences or path traversal characters
• Deploy intrusion detection systems (IDS) with signatures for path traversal attacks
• Establish baseline file access patterns and alert on anomalous file read operations

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging on web servers and the Police Statistics Database System application
• Configure alerts for access attempts to sensitive system files from web application processes
• Monitor network traffic for exfiltration of configuration files or sensitive data
• Implement file integrity monitoring on critical system and application files

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-1018

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict network access to the Police Statistics Database System to trusted IP ranges only
• Place the application behind a web application firewall with path traversal protection enabled
• Disable or remove file download functionality if not critical to operations
• Review and audit access logs for evidence of exploitation attempts

Patch Information

Organizations using the affected Police Statistics Database System should contact Gotac directly for patch availability and update instructions. Monitor the TWCert Security Advisory and TWCert Incident Report for updates on remediation guidance.

Workarounds

• Implement network-level access controls to limit exposure of the application to trusted networks only
• Deploy a reverse proxy or WAF that sanitizes all file path parameters before they reach the application
• Configure the application server to run with minimal file system permissions, limiting readable files
• If possible, place the application in a containerized or chroot environment to restrict file system access

# Example WAF rule for ModSecurity to block path traversal attempts
SecRule ARGS "@contains ../" "id:1001,phase:2,deny,status:403,msg:'Path Traversal Attempt Detected'"
SecRule ARGS "@rx ^[a-zA-Z]:[\\/]" "id:1002,phase:2,deny,status:403,msg:'Windows Absolute Path Detected'"
SecRule ARGS "@rx ^/" "id:1003,phase:2,deny,status:403,msg:'Unix Absolute Path Detected'"