GHSA-h5fg-jpgr-rv9c — Vert.x-Web Access Control Flaw in StaticHandler’s Hidden File Protection for Files Under Hidden Directories

Affected: Maven: io.vertx:vertx-web

# Description

There is a flaw in the hidden file protection feature of Vert.x Web’s `StaticHandler` when `setIncludeHidden(false)` is configured.

In the current implementation, only files whose final path segment (i.e., the file name) begins with a dot (`.`) are treated as “hidden” and are blocked from being served. However, this logic fails in the following cases:

- **Files under hidden directories**: For example, `/.secret/config.txt` — although `.secret` is a hidden directory, the file `config.txt` itself does not start with a dot, so it gets served. - **Real-world impact**: Sensitive files placed in hidden directories like `.git`, `.env`, `.aws` may become publicly accessible.

As a result, the behavior does not meet the expectations set by the `includeHidden=false` configuration, which should ideally protect all hidden files and directories. This gap may lead to unintended exposure of sensitive information.

# Steps to Reproduce

```bash 1. Prepare test environment

# Create directory structure mkdir -p src/test/resources/webroot/.secret mkdir -p src/test/resources/webroot/.git

# Place test files echo "This is a visible file" > src/test/resources/webroot/visible.txt echo "This is a hidden file" > src/test/resources/webroot/.hidden.txt echo "SECRET DATA: API_KEY=abc123" > src/test/resources/webroot/.secret/config.txt echo "Git config data" > src/test/resources/webroot/.git/config ```

```java 2. Implement test server

import io.vertx.core.AbstractVerticle; import io.…

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GHSA-h5fg-jpgr-rv9c — Vert.x-Web Access Control Flaw in StaticHandler’s Hidden File Protection for Files Under Hidden Directories