CVE-2020-15239
Directory Traversal in xmpp-http-upload
In xmpp-http-upload before version 0.4.0, when the GET method is attacked, attackers can read files which have a .data suffix and which are accompanied by a JSON file with the .meta suffix. This can lead to Information Disclosure and in some shared-hosting scenarios also to circumvention of authentication or other limitations on the outbound (GET) traffic. For example, in a scenario where a single server has multiple instances of the application running (with separate DATA_ROOT settings), an attacker who has knowledge about the directory structure is able to read files from any other instance to which the process has read access. If instances have individual authentication (for example, HTTP authentication via a reverse proxy, source IP based filtering) or other restrictions (such as quotas), attackers may circumvent those limits in such a scenario by using the Directory Traversal to retrieve data from the other instances. If the associated XMPP server (or anyone knowing the SECRET_KEY) is malicious, they can write files outside the DATA_ROOT. The files which are written are constrained to have the .meta and the .data suffixes; the .meta file will contain the JSON with the Content-Type of the original request and the .data file will contain the payload. The issue is patched in version 0.4.0.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
Directory Traversal in xmpp-http-upload
In xmpp-http-upload before version 0.4.0, when the GET method is attacked, attackers can read files which have a .data suffix and which are accompanied by a JSON file with the .meta suffix. This can lead to Information Disclosure and in some shared-hosting scenarios also to circumvention of authentication or other limitations on the outbound (GET) traffic. For example, in a scenario where a single server has multiple instances of the application running (with separate DATA_ROOT settings), an attacker who has knowledge about the directory structure is able to read files from any other instance to which the process has read access. If instances have individual authentication (for example, HTTP authentication via a reverse proxy, source IP based filtering) or other restrictions (such as quotas), attackers may circumvent those limits in such a scenario by using the Directory Traversal to retrieve data from the other instances. If the associated XMPP server (or anyone knowing the SECRET_KEY) is malicious, they can write files outside the DATA_ROOT. The files which are written are constrained to have the .meta and the .data suffixes; the .meta file will contain the JSON with the Content-Type of the original request and the .data file will contain the payload. The issue is patched in version 0.4.0.
- Record
CVE-2020-15239- CVSS 3.1
- 3.5 Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-22
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2020-0242
In xmpp-http-upload before version 0.4.0, when the GET method is attacked, attackers can read files which have a .data suffix and which are accompanied by a JSON file with the .meta suffix. This can lead to Information Disclosure and in some shared-hosting scenarios also to circumvention of authentication or other limitations on the outbound (GET) traffic. For example, in a scenario where a single server has multiple instances of the application running (with separate DATA_ROOT settings), an attacker who has knowledge about the directory structure is able to read files from any other instance to which the process has read access. If instances have individual authentication (for example, HTTP authentication via a reverse proxy, source IP based filtering) or other restrictions (such as quotas), attackers may circumvent those limits in such a scenario by using the Directory Traversal to retrieve data from the other instances. If the associated XMPP server (or anyone knowing the SECRET_KEY) is malicious, they can write files outside the DATA_ROOT. The files which are written are constrained to have the .meta and the .data suffixes; the .meta file will contain the JSON with the Content-Type of the original request and the .data file will contain the payload. The issue is patched in version 0.4.0.
- Record
EUVD-2020-0242- CVSS 3.1
- 3.5 Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-hwv5-w8gm-fq9f
Directory Traversal vulnerability in GET/PUT allows attackers to Disclose Information or Write Files via a crafted GET/PUT request
Impact
Information Disclosure
When the GET method is attacked, attackers can read files which have a .data suffix and which are accompanied by a JSON file with the .meta suffix. This can lead to Information Disclosure and in some shared-hosting scenarios also to circumvention of authentication or other limitations on the outbound (GET) traffic.
For example, in a scenario where a single server has multiple instances of the application running (with separate DATA_ROOT settings), an attacker who has knowledge about the directory structure is able to read files from any other instance to which the process has read access.
If instances have individual authentication (for example, HTTP authentication via a reverse proxy, source IP based filtering) or other restrictions (such as quotas), attackers may circumvent those limits in such a scenario by using the Directory Traversal to retrieve data from the other instances.
File Write
If the associated XMPP server (or anyone knowing the SECRET_KEY) is malicious, they can write files outside the DATA_ROOT. The files which are written are constrained to have the .meta and the .data suffixes; the .meta file will contain the JSON with the Content-Type of the original request and the .data file will contain the payload.
Patches
PR #12 fixes the issue. The PR has been merged into version 0.4.0 and 0.4.0 has been released and pushed to PyPI. Users are advised to upgrade immediately.
Workarounds
- Apache can apparently be configured to filter such malicious paths when reverse-proxying.
- There are no other workarounds known.
References
- Record
GHSA-hwv5-w8gm-fq9f- CVSS 4.0
- 2.3 Low
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:N/SC:L/SI:N/SA:N - CVSS 3.1
- 3.5 Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-22
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
In xmpp-http-upload before version 0.4.0, when the GET method is attacked, attackers can read files which have a .data suffix and which are accompanied by a JSON file with the .meta suffix. This can lead to Information Disclosure and in some shared-hosting scenarios also to circumvention of authentication or other limitations on the outbound (GET) traffic. For example, in a scenario where a single server has multiple instances of the application running (with separate DATA_ROOT settings), an attacker who has knowledge about the directory structure is able to read files from any other instance to which the process has read access. If instances have individual authentication (for example, HTTP authentication via a reverse proxy, source IP based filtering) or other restrictions (such as quotas), attackers may circumvent those limits in such a scenario by using the Directory Traversal to retrieve data from the other instances. If the associated XMPP server (or anyone knowing the SECRET_KEY) is malicious, they can write files outside the DATA_ROOT. The files which are written are constrained to have the .meta and the .data suffixes; the .meta file will contain the JSON with the Content-Type of the original request and the .data file will contain the payload. The issue is patched in version 0.4.0.
- Record
CVE-2020-15239- CVSS 3.1
- 3.5 Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:N - CVSS 2.0
- 4.0 Medium
AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-22
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
In xmpp-http-upload before version 0.4.0, when the GET method is attacked, attackers can read files which have a .data suffix and which are accompanied by a JSON file with the .meta suffix. This can lead to Information Disclosure and in some shared-hosting scenarios also to circumvention of authentication or other limitations on the outbound (GET) traffic. For example, in a scenario where a single server has multiple instances of the application running (with separate DATA_ROOT settings), an attacker who has knowledge about the directory structure is able to read files from any other instance to which the process has read access. If instances have individual authentication (for example, HTTP authentication via a reverse proxy, source IP based filtering) or other restrictions (such as quotas), attackers may circumvent those limits in such a scenario by using the Directory Traversal to retrieve data from the other instances. If the associated XMPP server (or anyone knowing the SECRET_KEY) is malicious, they can write files outside the DATA_ROOT. The files which are written are constrained to have the .meta and the .data suffixes; the .meta file will contain the JSON with the Content-Type of the original request and the .data file will contain the payload. The issue is patched in version 0.4.0.
- Record
CVE-2020-15239- CVSS 3.1
- 3.5 Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-hwv5-w8gm-fq9f
Directory Traversal vulnerability in GET/PUT allows attackers to Disclose Information or Write Files via a crafted GET/PUT request
Impact
Information Disclosure
When the GET method is attacked, attackers can read files which have a .data suffix and which are accompanied by a JSON file with the .meta suffix. This can lead to Information Disclosure and in some shared-hosting scenarios also to circumvention of authentication or other limitations on the outbound (GET) traffic.
For example, in a scenario where a single server has multiple instances of the application running (with separate DATA_ROOT settings), an attacker who has knowledge about the directory structure is able to read files from any other instance to which the process has read access.
If instances have individual authentication (for example, HTTP authentication via a reverse proxy, source IP based filtering) or other restrictions (such as quotas), attackers may circumvent those limits in such a scenario by using the Directory Traversal to retrieve data from the other instances.
File Write
If the associated XMPP server (or anyone knowing the SECRET_KEY) is malicious, they can write files outside the DATA_ROOT. The files which are written are constrained to have the .meta and the .data suffixes; the .meta file will contain the JSON with the Content-Type of the original request and the .data file will contain the payload.
Patches
PR #12 fixes the issue. The PR has been merged into version 0.4.0 and 0.4.0 has been released and pushed to PyPI. Users are advised to upgrade immediately.
Workarounds
- Apache can apparently be configured to filter such malicious paths when reverse-proxying.
- There are no other workarounds known.
References
- Record
GHSA-hwv5-w8gm-fq9f- CVSS 4.0
- 2.3 Low
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:N/SC:L/SI:N/SA:N - CVSS 3.1
- 3.5 Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-22
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVPYSEC-2020-158 No score
In xmpp-http-upload before version 0.4.0, when the GET method is attacked, attackers can read files which have a .data suffix and which are accompanied by a JSON file with the .meta suffix. This can lead to Information Disclosure and in some shared-hosting scenarios also to circumvention of authentication or other limitations on the outbound (GET) traffic. For example, in a scenario where a single server has multiple instances of the application running (with separate DATA_ROOT settings), an attacker who has knowledge about the directory structure is able to read files from any other instance to which the process has read access. If instances have individual authentication (for example, HTTP authentication via a reverse proxy, source IP based filtering) or other restrictions (such as quotas), attackers may circumvent those limits in such a scenario by using the Directory Traversal to retrieve data from the other instances. If the associated XMPP server (or anyone knowing the SECRET_KEY) is malicious, they can write files outside the DATA_ROOT. The files which are written are constrained to have the .meta and the .data suffixes; the .meta file will contain the JSON with the Content-Type of the original request and the .data file will contain the payload. The issue is patched in version 0.4.0.
- Record
PYSEC-2020-158- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
xmpp-http-uploadPyPI |
before 0.4.0 | 0.4.0 |
xmpp-http-uploadPyPI |
before 0.4.0, plus listed versions 0.10.2.00.3.0 |
0.4.0 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| facts | ||
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2020-15239 is a low vulnerability (CVSS 3.5) in Horazont Xmpp-http-upload, published October 6, 2020. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 1.87%, the 79th percentile. Fixed in xmpp-http-upload 0.4.0.
References
github.com/horazont/xmpp-http-upload/security/advisories/GHSA-hwv5-w8gm-fq9f
pypi.org/project/xmpp-http-upload
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-15239