CVE-2018-25438 Intermesh CVE debrief

Who should care

Defenders and administrators of Intermesh Group-Office versions before 3.5.5 should assess exposure and apply patches or updates to prevent remote file reading. This includes operators, platform administrators, vulnerability management teams, and security teams. They should review the supplied official advisory or CVE record to validate affected scope, severity, and vendor guidance.

Why it matters

CVE-2018-25438 is a path traversal vulnerability in Intermesh Group-Office versions before 3.5.5, allowing unauthenticated remote file reading. Defenders should prioritize verifying exposure and applying patches.

• Remote file reading is possible, allowing attackers to access sensitive information.
• The vulnerability can be exploited without authentication, increasing the attack surface.
• Defenders should verify exposure and apply patches to prevent exploitation.

Technical summary

The vulnerability exists in the compress.php file of Intermesh Group-Office versions before 3.5.5. An unauthenticated attacker can manipulate the 'file' parameter to read arbitrary files, such as /etc/passwd. This is a path traversal vulnerability that allows remote file reading. The vulnerability can be exploited by sending GET requests to /compress.php with '../' sequences in the 'file' parameter. Defenders should prioritize verifying exposure and applying patches, as the vulnerability allows remote file reading.

Defensive priority

Defenders should prioritize verifying exposure and applying patches, as the vulnerability allows remote file reading.

Recommended defensive actions

• Verify exposure by checking if the Group-Office version is less than 3.5.5
• Apply patches or updates to Group-Office to version 3.5.5 or later
• Monitor for suspicious activity related to the compress.php file
• Review compensating controls for exposed systems while remediation is scheduled and verified
• Check relevant monitoring, detection, and logs for exposed assets that need extra review
• Track exceptions, retest remediated assets, and close the item only after evidence is documented
• Confirm whether affected product deployments exist in managed environments and assign an owner for follow-up

Evidence notes

The vulnerability was first observed by the Shadowserver Foundation on 2023-10-21. The CVE record and NVD entry provide details on the vulnerability. Evidence is limited, and defenders should verify exposure and apply patches. The vulnerability allows remote file reading, and attackers can send GET requests to /compress.php with '../' sequences in the 'file' parameter.

Sources and references

Methodology and review provenance

AI-assisted synthesis based on stored public vulnerability evidence. System validation, approval state, and publication status do not by themselves establish human review of this revision. PatchSiren helps prioritize defensive review and does not prove exposure or remediation on any system.