Smarty is a template engine for PHP, facilitating the separation of presentation (HTML/CSS) from application logic. Prior to 5.8.2 (and 4.5.7 on the 4.x line), Security::_checkDir() does not fully resolve symbolic links before validating that a requested path lies within a configured secure directory. An attacker able to place or reference a symlink within a directory Smarty treats as trusted (e.g., a template or config directory) could use it to point outside the intended secure directory, bypassing the containment check and reading arbitrary files accessible to the PHP process.
This issue is fixed in versions 5.8.2 and 4.5.7.
Attack Parameters
Attack Vector
Network
Can be exploited remotely
Attack Complexity
Low
Easy to exploit
Attack Requirements
None
No additional conditions
Privileges Required
High
Admin privileges needed
User Interaction
None
No user interaction needed
Impact Assessment
Confidentiality
High
Complete data leak
Integrity
None
No data modification
Availability
None
No disruption
CVSS Vector v4.0
Weakness Type (CWE)
Vulnerable Products
smarty-php:smarty
References 5
https://github.com/smarty-php/smarty/security/advisories/GHSA-f6wf-28g6-769x
https://github.com/smarty-php/smarty/security/advisories/GHSA-f6wf-28g6-769x
https://github.com/smarty-php/smarty/commit/99c048ce7a590c519b79fbd38ad0143a081…
https://github.com/smarty-php/smarty/commit/99c048ce7a590c519b79fbd38ad0143a08183a1f
https://github.com/smarty-php/smarty/commit/a1ccdb0518021a559b4066c37b76a42c86b…
https://github.com/smarty-php/smarty/commit/a1ccdb0518021a559b4066c37b76a42c86bbce90
https://github.com/smarty-php/smarty/releases/tag/v4.5.7
https://github.com/smarty-php/smarty/releases/tag/v4.5.7
https://github.com/smarty-php/smarty/releases/tag/v5.8.2
https://github.com/smarty-php/smarty/releases/tag/v5.8.2