Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-25890

Access Control in Filebrowser ≤ 2.57.1

Public PoCAccess Control
Published
09 February 2026
Modified
20 February 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.1
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
EPSS Score 0.0046 38th percentile
Risk Priority 60 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-25890 is a high-severity Use of Incorrectly-Resolved Name or Reference (CWE-706) vulnerability in Filebrowser Filebrowser. Its CVSS base score is 8.1 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Path Interception (T1034); ranked at the 38th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-24 (Access Control Decisions) and AC-25 (Reference Monitor) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

CVE-2026-25890 affects File Browser, a web-based file management interface for uploading, deleting, previewing, renaming, and editing files within specified directories, in versions prior to 2.57.1. The vulnerability enables an authenticated user to bypass the application's "Disallow" file path rules by modifying the request URL, such as by adding multiple slashes (e.g., //private/) to the path. This causes the authorization check to fail matching the rule, while the underlying filesystem correctly resolves the path, resulting in unauthorized access to restricted files. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.1 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N) and is associated with CWE-706 (Use of Incorrectly-Resolved Name Into a Namespace) and CWE-863 (Incorrect Authorization).

An attacker with low-privilege authenticated access (PR:L) can exploit this vulnerability remotely over the network (AV:N) with low attack complexity and no user interaction required. By crafting requests with multiple slashes in disallowed paths, they bypass restrictions to access, preview, rename, edit, or delete sensitive files outside the permitted scope, achieving high impacts on confidentiality and integrity but no availability disruption.

The issue is addressed in File Browser version 2.57.1. The GitHub security advisory (GHSA-4mh3-h929-w968) details the vulnerability, the release notes for v2.57.1 confirm the fix, and the patching commit (489af403a19057f6b4b1dc0e48cbb26a202ef9) implements the resolution to properly handle path normalization in authorization checks. Security practitioners should upgrade to 2.57.1 or later and review access controls for file paths.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

File Browser provides a file managing interface within a specified directory and it can be used to upload, delete, preview, rename and edit files. Prior to 2.57.1, an authenticated user can bypass the application's "Disallow" file path rules by modifying…

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the request URL. By adding multiple slashes (e.g., //private/) to the path, the authorization check fails to match the rule, while the underlying filesystem resolves the path correctly, granting unauthorized access to restricted files. This vulnerability is fixed in 2.57.1.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1034 Path Interception Persistence
**This technique has been deprecated.
T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
T1548 Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may circumvent mechanisms designed to control privilege elevation to gain higher-level permissions.
T1548.002 Bypass User Account Control Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may bypass UAC mechanisms to elevate process privileges on system.
T1548.003 Sudo and Sudo Caching Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may perform sudo caching and/or use the sudoers file to elevate privileges.
T1574.008 Path Interception by Search Order Hijacking Stealth
Adversaries may execute their own malicious payloads by hijacking the search order used to load other programs.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-35604Same product: Filebrowser Filebrowser
CVE-2026-32758Same product: Filebrowser Filebrowser
CVE-2026-32761Same product: Filebrowser Filebrowser
CVE-2025-64523Same product: Filebrowser Filebrowser
CVE-2026-35606Same product: Filebrowser Filebrowser
CVE-2026-32759Same product: Filebrowser Filebrowser
CVE-2026-34528Same product: Filebrowser Filebrowser
CVE-2026-35607Same product: Filebrowser Filebrowser
CVE-2026-25889Same product: Filebrowser Filebrowser
CVE-2025-52903Same product: Filebrowser Filebrowser

Affected Assets

filebrowser
filebrowser
≤ 2.57.1

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 5 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

AC-3 directly requires correct enforcement of authorization decisions on every access request, structurally preventing incorrect checks.

AC-24 ensures access-control decisions are made and applied consistently, reducing the chance of an incorrect authorization result.

A reference monitor that is always invoked and tamper-proof forces every authorization decision through a verified, correct path.

Information flow enforcement can constrain flows that result from an incorrectly resolved name or reference.

Least-privilege assignments shrink the set of authorizations that must be checked correctly, limiting exposure to flawed checks.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.AA-05 mostly match
prevents

Defining, enforcing, and reviewing access authorizations and least privilege directly prevents incorrect authorization checks.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure-development practices directly prevent incorrect name/reference resolution bugs during coding.

PR.IR-01 partial match
prevents

Logical segmentation and access controls reduce the chance an out-of-sphere resolution succeeds.

PR.PS-01 partial match
prevents

Hardened configuration baselines can constrain allowable name-to-resource mappings.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

finds

Security testing can detect incorrect name or reference resolution through fuzzing and negative test cases.

prevents

Requiring consistency between access rights and classification plus formal approval steps ensures that the authorization logic correctly distinguishes between entities that should and should not be granted access.

prevents

Enforcing policy-driven approval and role-change reviews stops incorrect or stale authorization decisions from remaining in effect after job changes or terminations.

degrades

Network segmentation and routing policies reduce the chance that a mis-resolved name leads to an unintended external resource.

degrades

Segregated networks limit the blast radius when a name or reference resolves outside the intended control sphere.

prevents

Secure SDLC practices include design reviews that can catch incorrect name or reference handling before deployment.

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Oracle Linux 8 (2 rules)
  • V-248581 OL 8 must require users to provide a password for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-863
  • V-252656 The OL 8 operating system must not be configured to bypass password requirements for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-863
RHEL 7 (1 rule)
  • V-204430 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must be configured so that users must re-authenticate for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-863
RHEL 8 (1 rule)
  • V-251712 The RHEL 8 operating system must not be configured to bypass password requirements for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-863

References