Mittel

Vert.x-Web Access Control Flaw in StaticHandler’s Hidden File Protection for Files Under Hidden Directories

Veröffentlicht: 22.10.2025
Aktualisiert: 11.10.2026 13:20

Description

There is a flaw in the hidden file protection feature of Vert.x Web’s StaticHandler when setIncludeHidden(false) is configured.

In the current implementation, only files whose final path segment (i.e., the file name) begins with a dot (.) are treated as “hidden” and are blocked from being served. However, this logic fails in the following cases:

Files under hidden directories: For example, /.secret/config.txt — although .secret is a hidden directory, the file config.txt itself does not start with a dot, so it gets served.
Real-world impact: Sensitive files placed in hidden directories like .git, .env, .aws may become publicly accessible.

As a result, the behavior does not meet the expectations set by the includeHidden=false configuration, which should ideally protect all hidden files and directories. This gap may lead to unintended exposure of sensitive information.

Steps to Reproduce

bash

1. Prepare test environment

# Create directory structure
mkdir -p src/test/resources/webroot/.secret
mkdir -p src/test/resources/webroot/.git

# Place test files
echo "This is a visible file" > src/test/resources/webroot/visible.txt
echo "This is a hidden file" > src/test/resources/webroot/.hidden.txt
echo "SECRET DATA: API_KEY=abc123" > src/test/resources/webroot/.secret/config.txt
echo "Git config data" > src/test/resources/webroot/.git/config

java

2. Implement test server

import io.vertx.core.AbstractVerticle;
import io.vertx.core.Vertx;
import io.vertx.ext.web.Router;
import io.vertx.ext.web.handler.StaticHandler;

public class StaticHandlerTestServer extends AbstractVerticle {
  @Override
  public void start() {
    Router router = Router.router(vertx);

    // Configure to not serve hidden files
    StaticHandler staticHandler = StaticHandler.create("src/test/resources/webroot")
      .setIncludeHidden(false)
      .setDirectoryListing(false);

    router.route("/*").handler(staticHandler);

    vertx.createHttpServer()
      .requestHandler(router)
      .listen(8082);
  }

  public static void main(String[] args) {
    Vertx vertx = Vertx.vertx();
    vertx.deployVerticle(new StaticHandlerTestServer());
  }
}

bash

3. Confirm the vulnerability

# Normal file (accessible)
curl http://localhost:8082/visible.txt
# Result: 200 OK

# Hidden file (correctly blocked)
curl http://localhost:8082/.git
# Result: 404 Not Found

# File under hidden directory (vulnerable)
curl http://localhost:8082/.git/config
# Result: 200 OK - Returns contents of Git config

Potential Impact

1. Information Disclosure

Examples of sensitive files that could be exposed:

.git/config: Git repository settings (e.g., remote URL, credentials)
.env/*: Environment variables (API keys, DB credentials)
.aws/credentials: AWS access keys
.ssh/known_hosts: SSH host trust info
.docker/config.json: Docker registry credentials

2. Attack Scenarios

Attackers can guess common hidden directory names and enumerate filenames under them to access confidential data.
Especially dangerous for .git/HEAD, .git/config, .git/objects/* — which may allow full reconstruction of source code.

3. Affected Scope

Affected version: Vert.x Web 5.1.0-SNAPSHOT (likely earlier versions as well)
Environments: All OSes (Windows, Linux, macOS)
Configurations: All applications using StaticHandler.setIncludeHidden(false)

Betroffene Software

Klicken Sie auf eine Technologie, um alle zugehörigen Schwachstellen anzuzeigen.

Plattform	Paket	Anfällige Versionen	Behoben in
Java / Kotlin (Maven)	io.vertx:vertx-web	< 4.5.22, >= 5.0.0, < 5.0.5	4.5.22, 5.0.5

Verweise

CVSS-Wert -

CVSS-Vektor: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Schwäche (CWE): CWE-552
Plattform: Java / Kotlin (Maven)
Paket: io.vertx:vertx-web
Veröffentlicht: 22.10.2025
Aktualisiert: 11.10.2026 13:20

Quellen und Lizenzen

OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-h5fg-jpgr-rv9c - CC BY 4.0

Schwachstellenhistorie: io.vertx:vertx-web

Alle veröffentlichten Schwachstellen dieses Pakets (Java / Kotlin (Maven)), neueste zuerst. Zeigt, ob es ein einmaliger Ausrutscher ist oder ein Paket, das man im Auge behalten muss.

Einträge insgesamt: 7
Erste → letzte: 10.2018 10.2025
Ohne Fix: 0
In Angriffen ausgenutzt: 0

Verteilung nach Schweregrad

Kritisch 2
Hoch 2
Mittel 2
Niedrig 1

Veröffentlichungen pro Jahr

2018: 2
2019: 0
2020: 0
2021: 1
2022: 1
2023: 1
2024: 0
2025: 2
2026: 0

22.10.2025

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Niedrig · 4.9 CVE-2025-11966 < 4.5.22, >= 5.0.0, < 5.0.5 4.5.22, 5.0.5
22.10.2025

Vert.x-Web Access Control Flaw in StaticHandler’s Hidden File Protection for Files Under Hidden Directories dieser Eintrag

Mittel CVE-2025-11965 < 4.5.22, >= 5.0.0, < 5.0.5 4.5.22, 5.0.5
10.02.2023

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10.02.2022

Path Traversal in Eclipse Vert

Kritisch · 9.8 CVE-2019-17640 >= 3.0.0, < 3.9.4 3.9.4
22.04.2021

Cross-Site Request Forgery in Vert.x-Web framework

Hoch · 8.8 CVE-2020-35217 >= 4.0.0-milestone1, < 4.0.0-milestone5, >= 4.0.0-milestone2, < 4.0.0-milestone5, >= 4.0.0-milestone3, < 4.0.0-milestone5, >= 4.0.0-milestone4, < 4.0.0-milestone5 4.0.0-milestone5
17.10.2018

Eclipse Vert.x does not properly neutralize '' (forward slashes) sequences that can resolve to an external location

Kritisch · 9.8 CVE-2018-12542 >= 3.0.0, < 3.5.4 3.5.4
17.10.2018

High severity vulnerability that affects io.vertx:vertx-web

Hoch CVE-2018-12540 >= 3.0.0, < 3.5.3 3.5.3

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