Path Traversal in Overleaf

CVE-2024-45312

Overleaf is a web-based collaborative LaTeX editor. Overleaf Community Edition and Server Pro prior to version 5.0.7 (or 4.2.7 for the 4.x series) contain a vulnerability that allows an arbitrary language parameter in client spelling requests to be passed to the `aspell` executable running on the server. This causes `aspell` to attempt to load a dictionary file with an arbitrary filename. File access is limited to the scope of the overleaf server. The problem is patched in versions 5.0.7 and 4.2.7. Previous versions can be upgraded using the Overleaf toolkit `bin/upgrade` command. Users unable to upgrade may block POST requests to `/spelling/check` via a Web Application Firewall will prevent access to the vulnerable spell check feature. However, upgrading is advised.

Vulnerability class: Path Traversal (Directory Traversal)

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 5.3 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.005 (39.0th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 39th percentile — 39.0% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2024-45312: held from 0.005 to 0.005.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.005 · newest: 0.005 · change: 0.000

Affected products

  • Overleaf — versions >= 4.0.0, < 4.2.7, >= 5.0.0, < 5.0.7

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2024-45312?
CVE-2024-45312 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Overleaf, classified under Path Traversal. CVSS score: 5.3/10. Published 2024-09-02.
How severe is CVE-2024-45312?
Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.3 out of 10.