{"id":"GHSA-rrgf-hcr9-jq6h","summary":"TinyScientist has Path Traversal Vulnerability in PDF Review Function (CWE-22)","details":"## Description\nA critical path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22) has been identified in the `review_paper` function in `backend/app.py`. The vulnerability allows malicious users to access arbitrary PDF files on the server by providing crafted file paths that bypass the intended security restrictions.\n\n## Impact\nThis vulnerability allows attackers to:\n- Read any PDF file accessible to the server process\n- Potentially access sensitive documents outside the intended directory\n- Perform reconnaissance on the server's file system structure\n\n## Vulnerable Code\nThe issue occurs in the `review_paper` function around line 744:\n\n```python\nif pdf_path.startswith(\"/api/files/\"):\n    # Safe path handling for API routes\n    relative_path = pdf_path[len(\"/api/files/\"):]\n    generated_base = os.path.join(project_root, \"generated\")\n    absolute_pdf_path = os.path.join(generated_base, relative_path)\nelse:\n    absolute_pdf_path = pdf_path  # VULNERABLE: Direct use of user input\n```\n\n## Proof of Concept\n```bash\ncurl -X POST http://localhost:5000/api/review \\\n  -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" \\\n  -d '{\"pdf_path\": \"/etc/passwd\"}'\n```\n\n## Credit\nThis vulnerability was discovered and reported by Ruizhe.","aliases":["CVE-2025-55149","PYSEC-2026-1967"],"modified":"2026-09-10T03:50:27.514533341Z","published":"2025-08-11T13:38:14Z","database_specific":{"github_reviewed_at":"2025-08-11T13:38:14Z","nvd_published_at":"2025-08-09T03:15:47Z","cwe_ids":["CWE-22"],"severity":"MODERATE","github_reviewed":true},"references":[{"type":"WEB","url":"https://github.com/ulab-uiuc/tiny-scientist/security/advisories/GHSA-rrgf-hcr9-jq6h"},{"type":"ADVISORY","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-55149"},{"type":"WEB","url":"https://github.com/ulab-uiuc/tiny-scientist/commit/7fd42873603012acb8c55a4fc3eaac9ab18e6559"},{"type":"PACKAGE","url":"https://github.com/ulab-uiuc/tiny-scientist"}],"affected":[{"package":{"name":"tiny-scientist","ecosystem":"PyPI","purl":"pkg:pypi/tiny-scientist"},"ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"last_affected":"1.1.0"}]}],"versions":["0.0.1","0.0.1b0","0.0.2","0.0.3","0.0.4","0.1.0","0.1.1","0.1.2","0.1.3"],"database_specific":{"source":"https://github.com/github/advisory-database/blob/main/advisories/github-reviewed/2025/08/GHSA-rrgf-hcr9-jq6h/GHSA-rrgf-hcr9-jq6h.json"}}],"schema_version":"1.9.0","severity":[{"type":"CVSS_V4","score":"CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U"}]}