GHSA-76PC-MQXP-3RQ5
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-08-14 21:43 – Updated: 2026-08-14 21:43Unauthenticated Path Traversal in Dashboard Session Log API Endpoints
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Repository | ooples/token-optimizer-mcp |
| Affected version | 5.0.1 (commit 8137147) |
| Vulnerability | CWE-22 — Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory |
| Severity | Medium |
| CVSS 3.1 | 5.3 (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N) |
Summary
The dashboard HTTP server in token-optimizer-mcp exposes /api/session-summary and /api/session-events with no authentication middleware — any network-accessible client can reach them without credentials. Both handlers concatenate the caller-supplied sessionId query parameter directly into a filesystem path via path.join, and Node.js normalizes .. segments at resolution time, allowing an unauthenticated attacker to read any .jsonl file reachable from the server's filesystem. Successful reproduction confirmed exfiltration of a .jsonl file located outside the intended hooksDataPath directory with a single unauthenticated HTTP GET request.
Affected Code
src/server/web-server.ts:73–88 — /api/session-summary: unsanitized sessionId interpolated into path.join then passed to fs.readFileSync
const hooksDataPath = getHooksDataPath();
const jsonlFilePath = path.join(
hooksDataPath,
`session-log-${sessionId}.jsonl`
);
if (!fs.existsSync(jsonlFilePath)) {
return res.status(404).json({
success: false,
error: `JSONL log not found for session ${sessionId}`,
sessionId,
});
}
// Parse JSONL file
const jsonlContent = fs.readFileSync(jsonlFilePath, 'utf-8');
src/server/web-server.ts:297–311 — /api/session-events: identical unsanitized path.join + fs.readFileSync pattern
const hooksDataPath = getHooksDataPath();
const jsonlFilePath = path.join(
hooksDataPath,
`session-log-${sessionId}.jsonl`
);
if (!fs.existsSync(jsonlFilePath)) {
return res.status(404).json({
success: false,
error: `JSONL log not found for session ${sessionId}`,
});
}
// Parse JSONL file
const jsonlContent = fs.readFileSync(jsonlFilePath, 'utf-8');
req.query.sessionId flows unsanitized into path.join(hooksDataPath, \session-log-${sessionId}.jsonl`), which Node.js resolves by normalizing..traversal sequences before thefs.readFileSync` call.
Proof of Concept
Step 1 — Send traversal payload to /api/session-events with no credentials: server returns HTTP 200 with contents of a .jsonl file outside hooksDataPath — proves unauthenticated out-of-bounds file read.
curl -s "http://127.0.0.1:3100/api/session-events?sessionId=abc%2F..%2F..%2F..%2F..%2Ftraversal-target"
GET /api/session-events?sessionId=abc%2F..%2F..%2F..%2F..%2Ftraversal-target HTTP/1.1
Host: 127.0.0.1:3100
User-Agent: python-requests/2.x
Accept: */*
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
X-Powered-By: Express
Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *
Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8
Content-Length: 186
{"success":true,"sessionId":"abc/../../../../traversal-target","total":1,"offset":0,"limit":100,"events":[{"type":"PATH_TRAVERSAL_EVIDENCE","secret":"sensitive-data-outside-hooks-dir"}]}
Impact
An unauthenticated remote attacker can read the contents of any .jsonl file accessible to the process running the dashboard server. In a typical deployment this includes all session log files (which contain tool invocations, hook outputs, and token usage data) as well as any other .jsonl file reachable via .. traversal from hooksDataPath. The constraint that the resolved path must end in .jsonl limits the attack surface to that file extension, but session logs can contain sensitive operational data. The same path traversal is present in both /api/session-summary and /api/session-events, and neither endpoint requires authentication.
Remediation
- Validate
sessionIdformat before use: reject any value that does not match a strict allowlist such as/^[a-zA-Z0-9_-]{1,64}$/. This prevents/and.characters from entering the path construction entirely.
typescript
const SESSION_ID_RE = /^[a-zA-Z0-9_-]{1,64}$/;
if (!SESSION_ID_RE.test(sessionId)) {
return res.status(400).json({ success: false, error: 'Invalid sessionId' });
}
-
Alternatively, apply
path.basenameto strip all directory components:path.basename(sessionId)reduces any traversal sequence to a bare filename beforepath.join. -
Add authentication middleware to all
/api/*routes so that even if a bypass is found the endpoints are not reachable without a valid session token.
{
"affected": [
{
"package": {
"ecosystem": "npm",
"name": "@ooples/token-optimizer-mcp"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
},
{
"fixed": "5.1.0"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
]
}
],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2026-55156"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-22"
],
"github_reviewed": true,
"github_reviewed_at": "2026-08-14T21:43:54Z",
"nvd_published_at": null,
"severity": "MODERATE"
},
"details": "# Unauthenticated Path Traversal in Dashboard Session Log API Endpoints\n\n| Field | Value |\n| ---------------- | ----- |\n| Repository | ooples/token-optimizer-mcp |\n| Affected version | 5.0.1 (commit 8137147) |\n| Vulnerability | CWE-22 \u2014 Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory |\n| Severity | Medium |\n| CVSS 3.1 | 5.3 (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N) |\n\n\n## Summary\n\nThe dashboard HTTP server in `token-optimizer-mcp` exposes `/api/session-summary` and `/api/session-events` with no authentication middleware \u2014 any network-accessible client can reach them without credentials. Both handlers concatenate the caller-supplied `sessionId` query parameter directly into a filesystem path via `path.join`, and Node.js normalizes `..` segments at resolution time, allowing an unauthenticated attacker to read any `.jsonl` file reachable from the server\u0027s filesystem. Successful reproduction confirmed exfiltration of a `.jsonl` file located outside the intended `hooksDataPath` directory with a single unauthenticated HTTP GET request.\n\n## Affected Code\n\n`src/server/web-server.ts:73\u201388` \u2014 `/api/session-summary`: unsanitized `sessionId` interpolated into `path.join` then passed to `fs.readFileSync`\n\n```typescript\n const hooksDataPath = getHooksDataPath();\n const jsonlFilePath = path.join(\n hooksDataPath,\n `session-log-${sessionId}.jsonl`\n );\n\n if (!fs.existsSync(jsonlFilePath)) {\n return res.status(404).json({\n success: false,\n error: `JSONL log not found for session ${sessionId}`,\n sessionId,\n });\n }\n\n // Parse JSONL file\n const jsonlContent = fs.readFileSync(jsonlFilePath, \u0027utf-8\u0027);\n```\n\n`src/server/web-server.ts:297\u2013311` \u2014 `/api/session-events`: identical unsanitized `path.join` + `fs.readFileSync` pattern\n\n```typescript\n const hooksDataPath = getHooksDataPath();\n const jsonlFilePath = path.join(\n hooksDataPath,\n `session-log-${sessionId}.jsonl`\n );\n\n if (!fs.existsSync(jsonlFilePath)) {\n return res.status(404).json({\n success: false,\n error: `JSONL log not found for session ${sessionId}`,\n });\n }\n\n // Parse JSONL file\n const jsonlContent = fs.readFileSync(jsonlFilePath, \u0027utf-8\u0027);\n```\n\n`req.query.sessionId` flows unsanitized into `path.join(hooksDataPath, \\`session-log-${sessionId}.jsonl\\`)`, which Node.js resolves by normalizing `..` traversal sequences before the `fs.readFileSync` call.\n\n## Proof of Concept\n\nStep 1 \u2014 Send traversal payload to `/api/session-events` with no credentials: server returns HTTP 200 with contents of a `.jsonl` file outside `hooksDataPath` \u2014 proves unauthenticated out-of-bounds file read.\n\n```bash\ncurl -s \"http://127.0.0.1:3100/api/session-events?sessionId=abc%2F..%2F..%2F..%2F..%2Ftraversal-target\"\n```\n\n```http\nGET /api/session-events?sessionId=abc%2F..%2F..%2F..%2F..%2Ftraversal-target HTTP/1.1\nHost: 127.0.0.1:3100\nUser-Agent: python-requests/2.x\nAccept: */*\n```\n\n```http\nHTTP/1.1 200 OK\nX-Powered-By: Express\nAccess-Control-Allow-Origin: *\nContent-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8\nContent-Length: 186\n\n{\"success\":true,\"sessionId\":\"abc/../../../../traversal-target\",\"total\":1,\"offset\":0,\"limit\":100,\"events\":[{\"type\":\"PATH_TRAVERSAL_EVIDENCE\",\"secret\":\"sensitive-data-outside-hooks-dir\"}]}\n```\n\n## Impact\n\nAn unauthenticated remote attacker can read the contents of any `.jsonl` file accessible to the process running the dashboard server. In a typical deployment this includes all session log files (which contain tool invocations, hook outputs, and token usage data) as well as any other `.jsonl` file reachable via `..` traversal from `hooksDataPath`. The constraint that the resolved path must end in `.jsonl` limits the attack surface to that file extension, but session logs can contain sensitive operational data. The same path traversal is present in both `/api/session-summary` and `/api/session-events`, and neither endpoint requires authentication.\n\n## Remediation\n\n1. **Validate `sessionId` format** before use: reject any value that does not match a strict allowlist such as `/^[a-zA-Z0-9_-]{1,64}$/`. This prevents `/` and `.` characters from entering the path construction entirely.\n\n ```typescript\n const SESSION_ID_RE = /^[a-zA-Z0-9_-]{1,64}$/;\n if (!SESSION_ID_RE.test(sessionId)) {\n return res.status(400).json({ success: false, error: \u0027Invalid sessionId\u0027 });\n }\n ```\n\n2. **Alternatively, apply `path.basename`** to strip all directory components: `path.basename(sessionId)` reduces any traversal sequence to a bare filename before `path.join`.\n\n3. **Add authentication middleware** to all `/api/*` routes so that even if a bypass is found the endpoints are not reachable without a valid session token.",
"id": "GHSA-76pc-mqxp-3rq5",
"modified": "2026-08-14T21:43:55Z",
"published": "2026-08-14T21:43:54Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/ooples/token-optimizer-mcp/security/advisories/GHSA-76pc-mqxp-3rq5"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/ooples/token-optimizer-mcp/commit/b4ee96dac799cbfba0a9f9c17844ce9d613cbcc7"
},
{
"type": "PACKAGE",
"url": "https://github.com/ooples/token-optimizer-mcp"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/ooples/token-optimizer-mcp/releases/tag/v5.1.0"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
],
"summary": "Token Optimizer MCP: Unauthenticated Path Traversal in Dashboard Session Log API Endpoints"
}
Sightings
| Author | Source | Type | Date | Other |
|---|
Nomenclature
- Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
- Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
- Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
- Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
- Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
The approach is described in our paper Mapping CVEs to MITRE ATT&CK Techniques: A Curated Gold-Set Classifier and the Limits of LLM-Assisted Label Expansion.