CVE-2026-55086

## Description `src/node/handler/ImportHandler.ts` and `src/node/handler/ExportHandler.ts` both compute their temporary working-file paths as: ```ts const randNum = Math.floor(Math.random() * 0xFFFFFFFF); const srcFile = `${os.tmpdir()}/etherpad_export_${randNum}.html`; const destFile = `${os.tmpdir()}/etherpad_export_${randNum}.${type}`; ``` Two flaws compound: 1. **`Math.random()` is not crypto-secure.** It yields at most ~32 bits of entropy and is **predictable across calls within the same Node process** (V8 shares PRNG state between consecutive `Math.random()` invocations). An attacker on the same host who observes any earlier temp-file name from logs or other side channels can predict subsequent names. 2. **The paths land in `os.tmpdir()`.** On a typical Linux system this is `/tmp` — a shared world-writable directory. An unprivileged local attacker can pre-create a symbolic link at a predicted path pointing at any file the Etherpad process can write: ``` ln -s /etc/etherpad/SESSIONKEY.txt /tmp/etherpad_export_<predicted>.html ``` When `ExportHandler` calls `fs.writeFile(srcFile, html)` (or `ImportHandler` calls `fs.rename(srcFile, destFile)` / `soffice` writes its converted output to the path), the open syscall follows the symlink and either reads from or overwrites the linked target. For deployments where the Etherpad process runs as a privileged user (notably some Docker base images that run as root, snap confinement edge cases, or hand-rolled systemd units), this becomes arbitrary file overwrite. The Import path is more impactful in practice: the file content the attacker can land in the symlink target is partially attacker-controlled (the post-soffice/post-mammoth conversion output of the uploaded document). ## Severity rationale - **AV:L** — requires local access to the host that runs Etherpad. Multi-tenant hosts (shared dev boxes, k8s shared-node setups, single-server CI workers) are the realistic threat surface. - **AC:H** — attacker needs to predict the temp filename, which requires observing prior names or shared PRNG state. - **PR:L** — any unprivileged local account. - **UI:N** — no user interaction. - **S:C** — scope change from local user to whatever the Etherpad process can write. - **C:L / I:L / A:N** — bounded by what the Etherpad process can already touch; confidentiality is via secondary read-paths (the LibreOffice conversion error log can echo bytes from the symlinked file). Single-tenant deployments where only the Etherpad operator has shell access on the host are not exposed. ## Affected versions - All `ep_etherpad-lite` versions through `v3.0.0` (inclusive). The `Math.floor(Math.random() * 0xFFFFFFFF)` pattern is present in `src/node/handler/ImportHandler.ts` and `src/node/handler/ExportHandler.ts` for as far back as the repository history extends — older than the 2024-03-16 snapshot at commit [`107598b`](https://github.com/ether/etherpad/commit/107598b) where it first appears in the current file paths, and predating the v1.x era. ## Patched versions - `ep_etherpad-lite >= 3.1.0` — the fix is on `develop` HEAD as commit `8c6104c`. Update this field with the actual tagged release version when it ships. ## Proof of concept (sketch) ``` # Pre-condition: attacker has shell on the same host as Etherpad, # has read access to /tmp, and Etherpad's process can write to the # chosen target (e.g. runs as root inside a Docker container). # 1. Observe a temp filename from logs (or guess via prior exports). TARGET=/etc/etherpad/SESSIONKEY.txt GUESS=/tmp/etherpad_export_$(./predict-next-random)$EXT # implementation-specific # 2. Place the symlink before Etherpad creates the file. ln -s "$TARGET" "$GUESS" # 3. Trigger an export from the Etherpad UI (or via the API). # Etherpad calls fs.writeFile(srcFile, ...) which open()s the symlink # target with O_WRONLY|O_TRUNC and clobbers $TARGET with HTML content. ``` In practice the exact reproduction depends on the host's PRNG state predictability and the deployment's process-owner privileges. A reliable exploit chain needs `setpriv`-style host access or a sibling tenant. ## Workarounds - Run Etherpad in a container with a private `/tmp` (Docker: `--tmpfs /tmp:rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev,size=64m`, systemd: `PrivateTmp=true`). - Ensure the Etherpad process does NOT run as root and has write access only to its own data directory. - Set `TMPDIR` to an Etherpad-private directory in the environment. ## Fix Patched in [`8c6104c`](https://github.com/ether/etherpad/commit/8c6104c) (PR [#7784](https://github.com/ether/etherpad/pull/7784)): ```diff -const randNum = Math.floor(Math.random() * 0xFFFFFFFF); +const randNum = crypto.randomBytes(16).toString('hex'); ``` 128 bits of CSPRNG entropy. Predicting the next filename is no longer feasible. A bigger follow-up — per-request `mkdtemp` subdirectories with `O_EXCL`/`O_NOFOLLOW` semantics — is deferred to a later release; the immediate window (predictable 32-bit collisions across processes) is what the patch closes. ## Resources - Patched in: https://github.com/ether/etherpad/pull/7784 (squash commit `8c6104c`). - `Math.random()` is not appropriate for security-sensitive contexts. See the MDN guidance for [`Math.random()`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Math/random) and the Node.js recommendation to use [`crypto.randomBytes`](https://nodejs.org/api/crypto.html#cryptorandombytessize-callback) for unpredictable values. ## Credits Reported during an internal security audit by Claude (via @JohnMcLear).