GHSA-prj9-97mp-mwh2
OliveTin has Unvalidated `ot_`-prefixed Arguments that Bypass Input Filtering
Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Go | github.com/OliveTin/OliveTin | < 0.0.0-20260531214440-ebffd9f040f7 | 0.0.0-20260531214440-ebffd9f040f7 |
Details
As written in the advisory (Markdown source, shown as plain text).
### Description
The `filterToDefinedArgumentsOnly` function in the executor is intended to discard any arguments not explicitly defined in the action's configuration. However, a special case allows any argument whose name starts with `ot_` to bypass this filter. While two system arguments (`ot_executionTrackingId` and `ot_username`) are injected by OliveTin and overridden, all other `ot_`-prefixed arguments supplied by the user pass through unmodified.
These bypassed arguments are:
1. **Not type-checked** — the validation loop only iterates over the action's defined arguments, so `ot_`-prefixed arguments skip all type safety checks entirely.
2. **Set as environment variables** — via `buildEnv()`, with completely unvalidated values, and passed to the executed command.
3. **Included in the template context** — available as `.Arguments.ot_*` in template rendering.
### Affected Code
**Filter bypass — `service/internal/executor/executor.go` (lines 728–731):**
```go
func keepArgument(name string, definedNames map[string]struct{}) bool {
_, ok := definedNames[name]
return ok || strings.HasPrefix(name, "ot_")
}
```
**System args only override two keys — `service/internal/executor/executor.go` (lines 742–745):**
```go
func injectSystemArgs(req *ExecutionRequest) {
req.Arguments["ot_executionTrackingId"] = req.TrackingID
req.Arguments["ot_username"] = req.AuthenticatedUser.Username
}
```
Any other `ot_`-prefixed argument (e.g., `ot_malicious`) survives both functions.
**Unvalidated values become environment variables — `service/internal/executor/executor.go` (lines 867–882):**
```go
func buildEnv(args map[string]string) []string {
ret := append(os.Environ(), "OLIVETIN=1")
for k, v := range args {
varName := fmt.Sprintf("%v", strings.TrimSpace(strings.ToUpper(k)))
if varName == "" { continue }
ret = append(ret, fmt.Sprintf("%v=%v", varName, v))
}
return ret
}
```
The value `v` is never validated. It can contain newlines, shell metacharacters, null bytes, or any arbitrary data.
### Proof of Concept
An attacker sends a `StartAction` request with extra `ot_`-prefixed arguments:
```json
{
"bindingId": "<any-action-id>",
"arguments": [
{ "name": "ot_custom_var", "value": "arbitrary unvalidated content \n with newlines" },
{ "name": "ot_another", "value": "$(whoami)" }
]
}
```
These arguments:
- Pass through `filterToDefinedArgumentsOnly` (the `ot_` prefix exempts them).
- Are never type-checked (not in the action's argument definitions).
- Become environment variables `OT_CUSTOM_VAR` and `OT_ANOTHER` in the executed command's environment.
- Are available in the template rendering context as `.Arguments.ot_custom_var` and `.Arguments.ot_another`.
### Impact
- **Environment variable pollution** — attacker can set arbitrary environment variables (with `OT_` uppercased prefix) in the execution environment of any action they can trigger. Scripts or programs that read custom environment variables could be influenced.
- **Potential for secondary exploitation** — if any executed script or command reads `OT_`-prefixed environment variables, the unvalidated content could cause unexpected behavior.
- **Template context pollution** — although Go's `text/template` does not recursively evaluate data values (mitigating direct template injection), the extra arguments are accessible in the template context and could interact unexpectedly with custom template logic.
### Suggested Fix
Remove the `ot_` prefix exception from `keepArgument`, or restrict it to only the two known system arguments:
```go
var systemArgs = map[string]struct{}{
"ot_executionTrackingId": {},
"ot_username": {},
}
func keepArgument(name string, definedNames map[string]struct{}) bool {
_, isDefined := definedNames[name]
_, isSystem := systemArgs[name]
return isDefined || isSystem
}
```
---
## Discovery Methodology
Both vulnerabilities were identified through manual source code review of the OliveTin repository, focusing on:
- Input validation boundaries (API request fields flowing into file system operations and execution contexts)
- Argument filtering and type-checking logic in the executor
- File path construction in the log persistence feature
No automated scanners or fuzzing tools were used. The review was conducted against the current `main` branch source code.
---
References
External links from the advisory. They lead to third-party sites.