CVE-2026-53698: Silverpeas Info Disclosure Vulnerability

CVE-2026-53698 Overview

CVE-2026-53698 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Silverpeas through version 6.4.6. The flaw resides in how the collaborative platform handles its "Personal space" feature when no componentId parameter is supplied to the FileServer servlet. An authenticated attacker can abuse this mishandling to access files outside their intended scope, leading to disclosure of confidential information stored in other users' personal spaces. The weakness is categorized under [CWE-36] (Absolute Path Traversal), reflecting improper handling of file resolution paths within the application.

Critical Impact
Authenticated remote attackers can read sensitive files from other users' Personal space areas without additional privileges, breaking the confidentiality boundary of the Silverpeas platform.

Affected Products

Silverpeas Core through version 6.4.6
Silverpeas collaborative platform deployments using the FileServer servlet
Installations relying on Personal space file storage workflows

Discovery Timeline

2026-06-10 - CVE-2026-53698 published to NVD
2026-06-10 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-53698

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability stems from how Silverpeas resolves file requests through its FileServer servlet located at core-war/src/main/java/org/silverpeas/web/servlets/FileServer.java. When a request arrives without a componentId parameter, the servlet defaults to the "Personal space" feature instead of rejecting the request. This fallback bypasses the component-scoped authorization checks that normally restrict file access to the requesting user's permissions. As a result, the servlet serves files from contexts the caller should not be able to reach. The flaw is classified as an Absolute Path Traversal issue [CWE-36] because the path resolution accepts inputs that escape the intended access boundary.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing validation logic in the FileServer request handling path. The servlet relies on componentId to identify the data context and apply access control, but the absence of this parameter triggers a permissive default branch. This default does not enforce ownership or membership checks before reading the requested file. The official fix in commit caa6e6d1ac967ebd29b39e11c2ef5e7fd0047eec addresses the gap by adjusting how Personal space requests are validated.

Attack Vector

The attack is delivered over the network and requires low-privilege authentication. An attacker sends crafted HTTP requests to the FileServer endpoint, omitting the componentId parameter and supplying parameters that point to files in another user's Personal space. The server responds with the file contents, leaking confidential data. Integrity and availability are not impacted, but confidentiality loss is high. Refer to the Silverpeas Issue Tracker Entry and the GitHub File Server Code Snippet for the affected code locations.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-53698

Indicators of Compromise

Requests to the FileServer servlet that omit the componentId query parameter while specifying file identifiers belonging to other users.
Unusual volumes of successful 200 responses from /FileServer/ paths originating from a single authenticated session.
Application logs showing Personal space file reads correlated with users who do not own the requested resources.

Detection Strategies

Inspect web server and application logs for FileServer requests lacking componentId and review whether the caller owns the targeted file.
Correlate authenticated session identifiers with the Personal space owner IDs in the responses to detect cross-user access.
Deploy web application firewall rules that flag or block FileServer requests missing required component context parameters.

Monitoring Recommendations

Forward Silverpeas access logs to a centralized log analytics platform and alert on anomalous file retrieval patterns.
Track per-user file access rates and trigger investigations when a single account reads files attributed to many distinct owners.
Monitor egress traffic from the Silverpeas host for large or unexpected file transfers following suspicious FileServer activity.

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-53698

Immediate Actions Required

Upgrade Silverpeas to a version that includes the fix from commit caa6e6d1ac967ebd29b39e11c2ef5e7fd0047eec as soon as it is available from the vendor.
Restrict network access to the Silverpeas application to trusted users and require strong authentication for all sessions.
Audit existing user accounts and revoke credentials that are no longer needed to reduce the population of potential abusers.

Patch Information

The Silverpeas maintainers have addressed the issue in the GitHub Commit Change Log. The patch updates the FileServer servlet logic so that requests without a valid componentId no longer fall through to permissive Personal space handling. Administrators should deploy the official Silverpeas release that incorporates this commit and verify the fix is present after upgrade. Additional context is available in the Silverpeas Issue Tracker Entry.

Workarounds

Place a reverse proxy or web application firewall in front of Silverpeas to reject FileServer requests that omit the componentId parameter.
Limit access to the /FileServer/ URI to authenticated users from trusted network ranges until the patched version is deployed.
Increase log retention and review frequency for the FileServer endpoint so that any exploitation attempts are detected quickly.

bash

# Example nginx rule to block FileServer requests missing componentId
location /FileServer/ {
    if ($arg_componentId = "") {
        return 403;
    }
    proxy_pass http://silverpeas_backend;
}