CVE-2018-25393 Navigatecms CVE debrief

Who should care

Organizations running Navigate CMS 2.8.5, particularly those with external-facing installations. Security teams responsible for web application security, system administrators managing Navigate CMS deployments, and developers maintaining Navigate CMS installations should prioritize assessment and remediation.

Technical summary

The vulnerability exists in navigate_download.php where the id parameter fails to properly sanitize directory traversal sequences (e.g., ../../../). An authenticated attacker can exploit this to download arbitrary files from the server, including sensitive configuration files such as cfg/globals.php. The attack requires network access and valid authentication credentials. The vulnerability has high impact on confidentiality (VC:H) with no impact on integrity or availability.

Defensive priority

HIGH

Recommended defensive actions

• Restrict access to navigate_download.php to authorized administrative users only
• Implement input validation and sanitization on the id parameter to reject path traversal sequences
• Apply principle of least privilege for Navigate CMS user accounts
• Monitor for suspicious GET requests to navigate_download.php containing directory traversal patterns
• Upgrade to a patched version of Navigate CMS when available
• Review file system permissions to prevent web server access to sensitive configuration files

Evidence notes

The vulnerability is classified as CWE-22 (Path Traversal). CVSS 4.0 vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N. The vulnerability requires authenticated access (PR:L), making exploitation conditional on valid credentials. The vulnerability status in NVD is listed as 'Deferred'.

Official resources