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GHSA-67cg-cpj7-qgc9 CVE-2026-35606 GO-2026-5167

File Browser discloses text file content via /api/resources endpoint bypassing Perm.Download check

High Go
Severity
0.0 / 10
High · CVSS 4.0
Exploit chance (EPSS)
0.34%
Chance of exploitation in the next 30 days. Higher than 27.38% of scored vulnerabilities.
Known exploited
No
Not in CISA's catalog
Weakness
CWE-862 Missing Authorization
Fix
2.63.1
Upgrade github.com/filebrowser/filebrowser/v2 to this version or later

Description

Summary

The resourceGetHandler in http/resource.go returns full text file content without checking the Perm.Download permission flag. All three other content-serving endpoints (/api/raw, /api/preview, /api/subtitle) correctly verify this permission before serving content. A user with download: false can read any text file within their scope through two bypass paths.

Confirmed on v2.62.2 (commit 860c19d).

Root Cause

http/resource.go line 26-33 hardcodes Content: true in the FileOptions without checking download permission:

file, err := files.NewFileInfo(&files.FileOptions{
    ...
    Content:    true,  // Always loads text content, no permission check
})

Lines 44-63: the X-Encoding: true header path reads the entire file and returns raw bytes as application/octet-stream, also without any download check.

Compare with the three protected endpoints:

// raw.go:83-85
if !d.user.Perm.Download { return http.StatusAccepted, nil }

// preview.go:38-40
if !d.user.Perm.Download { return http.StatusAccepted, nil }

// subtitle.go:13-15
if !d.user.Perm.Download { return http.StatusAccepted, nil }

PoC

Tested on filebrowser v2.62.2, built from HEAD.

# Create user with download=false via CLI
filebrowser users add restricted testuser123456 --perm.download=false

# Login
TOKEN=$(curl -s http://HOST/api/login -d '{"username":"restricted","password":"testuser123456"}')

# BLOCKED: /api/raw correctly enforces download permission
curl -s -w "\nHTTP: %{http_code}" http://HOST/api/raw/secret.txt -H "X-Auth: $TOKEN"
# → 202 Accepted (empty body)

# BYPASS 1: /api/resources with X-Encoding returns raw file content
curl -s http://HOST/api/resources/secret.txt -H "X-Auth: $TOKEN" -H "X-Encoding: true"
# → 200 OK, body: SECRET_PASSWORD=hunter2

# BYPASS 2: /api/resources JSON includes content field
curl -s http://HOST/api/resources/secret.txt -H "X-Auth: $TOKEN" | jq .content
# → "SECRET_PASSWORD=hunter2\n"

Impact

A user with download: false can read the full content of text files within their authorized scope (up to the 10MB detectType limit). This includes source code, configuration files, credentials, and API tokens stored as text.

This bypass does not defeat path authorization. It bypasses only the Download permission for files the user can otherwise address within their authorized scope. The inconsistency across the four content-serving endpoints (three check Perm.Download, one does not) indicates this is an oversight, not a design decision.

Suggested Fix

Match the existing endpoint behavior (HTTP 202 for denied downloads):

Content: d.user.Perm.Download,  // Only load content when permitted

And add a guard before the X-Encoding raw byte path, matching the existing 202 pattern:

if !d.user.Perm.Download {
    return http.StatusAccepted, nil
}

Update: Fix submitted as PR #5891.

Affected versions

Go

PackageVulnerableFixed in
github.com/filebrowser/filebrowser
all versions
No fix yet
github.com/filebrowser/filebrowser/v2
< 2.63.1
2.63.1

How to fix

Move to the fixed version or later with your package manager, update the lockfile, and run your tests. If the package only arrives through another dependency, upgrade that dependency first. If none of its releases pulls a fixed version yet, force the version with your package manager's override.

github.com/filebrowser/filebrowser/v2 Go → 2.63.1

go
go get github.com/filebrowser/filebrowser/v2@v2.63.1 && go mod tidy

Severity breakdown

CVSS 4.0 0.0

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Attack requirements
None
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Confidentiality (vulnerable system)
Low
Integrity (vulnerable system)
None
Availability (vulnerable system)
None
Confidentiality (subsequent systems)
None
Integrity (subsequent systems)
None
Availability (subsequent systems)
None

CVSS 3.1 7.5

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

Weakness

CWE-862: Missing Authorization

The product does not perform an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action.

How to prevent it
  • Architecture and Design: Divide the product into anonymous, normal, privileged, and administrative areas. Reduce the attack surface by carefully mapping roles with data and functionality. Use role-based access control (RBAC) [REF-229] to enforce the roles at the appropriate boundaries. Note that this approach may not protect against horizontal authorization, i.e., it will not protect a user from attacking others with the same role.
  • Architecture and Design: Ensure that access control checks are performed related to the business logic. These checks may be different than the access control checks that are applied to more generic resources such as files, connections, processes, memory, and database records. For example, a database may restrict access for medical records to a specific database user, but each record might only be intended to be accessible to the patient and the patient's doctor [REF-7].
  • Architecture and Design: Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid. For example, consider using authorization frameworks such as the JAAS Authorization Framework [REF-233] and the OWASP ESAPI Access Control feature [REF-45].
  • Architecture and Design: For web applications, make sure that the access control mechanism is enforced correctly at the server side on every page. Users should not be able to access any unauthorized functionality or information by simply requesting direct access to that page. One way to do this is to ensure that all pages containing sensitive information are not cached, and that all such pages restrict access to requests that are accompanied by an active and authenticated session token associated with a user who has the required permissions to access that page.
  • System Configuration, Installation: Use the access control capabilities of your operating system and server environment and define your access control lists accordingly. Use a "default deny" policy when defining these ACLs.

References

Timeline

  1. Published
  2. Last updated by the source
  3. Latest EPSS score
AdvisorySeverityWhy it's related
GHSA-833g-cqhp-h72j
File Browser: Share API exposes the password hash and bypass token
Low Also affects github.com/filebrowser/filebrowser
GHSA-83xp-526h-j3ww
File Browser: Archive builder turns backslash filenames into path traversal (zip-slip)
Medium Also affects github.com/filebrowser/filebrowser
GHSA-7rc3-g7h6-22m7
File Browser: Colliding username normalization gives two users the same home directory
High Also affects github.com/filebrowser/filebrowser
GHSA-8wc8-hf36-mjh9
File Browser: ScopedFs follows a dangling symlink on write, letting a scoped user create files outside their scope
Medium Also affects github.com/filebrowser/filebrowser
GHSA-fmm7-x4gx-8jhr
File Browser: Out-of-scope file deletion by a Create-only scoped user via symlink-following RemoveAll in upload failure-cleanup
High Also affects github.com/filebrowser/filebrowser
GHSA-xqp3-jq6g-x3qm
File Browser: Authentication Bypass via Proxy Auth Header Forgery
Critical Also affects github.com/filebrowser/filebrowser
GHSA-m93h-4hw7-5qcm
File Browser: Command Injection via Authentication Hook Shell Substitution (Pre-Authentication RCE)
Critical Also affects github.com/filebrowser/filebrowser
GHSA-8c9q-7855-wfxq
File Browser has a Command Execution Allowlist Bypass via Shell Metacharacter Injection
High Also affects github.com/filebrowser/filebrowser
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