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PYSEC-2026-1967

Vulnerability from pysec - Published: 2026-07-07 16:03 - Updated: 2026-07-07 17:25
VLAI
Details

Description

A critical path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22) has been identified in the review_paper function in backend/app.py. The vulnerability allows malicious users to access arbitrary PDF files on the server by providing crafted file paths that bypass the intended security restrictions.

Impact

This vulnerability allows attackers to: - Read any PDF file accessible to the server process - Potentially access sensitive documents outside the intended directory - Perform reconnaissance on the server's file system structure

Vulnerable Code

The issue occurs in the review_paper function around line 744:

if pdf_path.startswith("/api/files/"):
    # Safe path handling for API routes
    relative_path = pdf_path[len("/api/files/"):]
    generated_base = os.path.join(project_root, "generated")
    absolute_pdf_path = os.path.join(generated_base, relative_path)
else:
    absolute_pdf_path = pdf_path  # VULNERABLE: Direct use of user input

Proof of Concept

curl -X POST http://localhost:5000/api/review \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"pdf_path": "/etc/passwd"}'

Credit

This vulnerability was discovered and reported by Ruizhe.

Severity
6.7 (Medium)
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U
Impacted products
Name purl
tiny-scientist pkg:pypi/tiny-scientist
Aliases
To clipboard 

{
  "affected": [
    {
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "PyPI",
        "name": "tiny-scientist",
        "purl": "pkg:pypi/tiny-scientist"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0"
            },
            {
              "last_affected": "1.1.0"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ],
      "versions": [
        "0.0.1",
        "0.0.1b0",
        "0.0.2",
        "0.0.3",
        "0.0.4",
        "0.1.0",
        "0.1.1",
        "0.1.2",
        "0.1.3"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2025-55149",
    "GHSA-rrgf-hcr9-jq6h"
  ],
  "details": "## Description\nA critical path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22) has been identified in the `review_paper` function in `backend/app.py`. The vulnerability allows malicious users to access arbitrary PDF files on the server by providing crafted file paths that bypass the intended security restrictions.\n\n## Impact\nThis vulnerability allows attackers to:\n- Read any PDF file accessible to the server process\n- Potentially access sensitive documents outside the intended directory\n- Perform reconnaissance on the server\u0027s file system structure\n\n## Vulnerable Code\nThe issue occurs in the `review_paper` function around line 744:\n\n```python\nif pdf_path.startswith(\"/api/files/\"):\n    # Safe path handling for API routes\n    relative_path = pdf_path[len(\"/api/files/\"):]\n    generated_base = os.path.join(project_root, \"generated\")\n    absolute_pdf_path = os.path.join(generated_base, relative_path)\nelse:\n    absolute_pdf_path = pdf_path  # VULNERABLE: Direct use of user input\n```\n\n## Proof of Concept\n```bash\ncurl -X POST http://localhost:5000/api/review \\\n  -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" \\\n  -d \u0027{\"pdf_path\": \"/etc/passwd\"}\u0027\n```\n\n## Credit\nThis vulnerability was discovered and reported by Ruizhe.",
  "id": "PYSEC-2026-1967",
  "modified": "2026-07-07T17:25:41.764062Z",
  "published": "2026-07-07T16:03:00.787606Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/ulab-uiuc/tiny-scientist/security/advisories/GHSA-rrgf-hcr9-jq6h"
    },
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-55149"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/ulab-uiuc/tiny-scientist/commit/7fd42873603012acb8c55a4fc3eaac9ab18e6559"
    },
    {
      "type": "PACKAGE",
      "url": "https://github.com/ulab-uiuc/tiny-scientist"
    },
    {
      "type": "PACKAGE",
      "url": "https://pypi.org/project/tiny-scientist"
    },
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-rrgf-hcr9-jq6h"
    }
  ],
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U",
      "type": "CVSS_V4"
    }
  ],
  "summary": "TinyScientist has Path Traversal Vulnerability in PDF Review Function (CWE-22)"
}



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