Path Traversal and Privilege Escalation via Legacy InfoStudio in Progress MarkLogic
AI analysis
Progress MarkLogic Server ships privileged legacy InfoStudio modules that do not sufficiently validate user-controlled file paths and user-context values, combining a path traversal flaw (CWE-22) with an improper privilege management flaw (CWE-269). An authenticated attacker with only low-level privileges can trigger the issue over the network by supplying crafted file-path or user-context values to the affected modules. Successful exploitation can yield unauthorized access to files on the server or execution under an unintended, more privileged identity, which is reflected in a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.5 (high) with high confidentiality and low integrity impact. Affected deployments are MarkLogic Server 12.x releases before 12.1.0 and 11.x releases before 11.3.7. There is no known public proof of concept, the flaw is not on CISA's KEV list, and no exploitation in the wild has been reported.
What to do: Upgrade to MarkLogic Server 12.1.0 or later on the 12.x line, or 11.3.7 or later on the 11.x line. If patching cannot be done immediately, restrict or disable the legacy InfoStudio modules and limit network access to MarkLogic's HTTP application and admin ports to trusted users and networks. Review server logs for suspicious InfoStudio activity, such as unexpected file reads or operations executed under an unexpected user identity.
Affected
| Progress MarkLogic Server | 12.x before 12.1.0 |
| Progress MarkLogic Server | 11.x before 11.3.7 |
Estimated exposure
moderateroughly a few thousand internet-exposed MarkLogic servers, with total enterprise deployments unknown but plausibly in the low thousands — MarkLogic is a niche enterprise NoSQL database typically deployed on-premises in government, finance, healthcare, and publishing environments, and public internet scan engines historically show only a few thousand exposed instances.
Description
Progress MarkLogic Server 12.x releases before 12.1.0 and 11.x releases before 11.3.7 contain privileged legacy InfoStudio modules that do not sufficiently validate user-controlled file paths and user-context values. Exploitation could result in unauthorized access to server files or execution under an unintended identity.