CVE-2024-29180 — webpack / webpack-dev-middleware
Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')Prior to versions 7.1.0, 6.1.2, and 5.3.4, the webpack-dev-middleware development middleware for devpack does not validate the supplied URL address sufficiently before returning the local file. It is possible to access any file on the developer's machine. The middleware can either work with the physical filesystem when reading the files or it can use a virtualized in-memory memfs filesystem. If writeToDisk configuration option is set to true, the physical filesystem is used. The getFilenameFromUrl method is used to parse URL and build the local file path. The public path prefix is stripped from the URL, and the unsecaped path suffix is appended to the outputPath. As the URL is not unescaped and normalized automatically before calling the midlleware, it is possible to use %2e and %2f sequences to perform path traversal attack.
Developers using webpack-dev-server or webpack-dev-middleware are affected by the issue. When the project is started, an attacker might access any file on the developer's machine and exfiltrate the content. If the development server is listening on a public IP address (or 0.0.0.0), an attacker on the local network can access the local files without any interaction from the victim (direct connection to the port). If the server allows access from third-party domains, an attacker can send a malicious link to the victim. When visited, the client side script can connect to the local server and exfiltrate the local files. Starting with fixed versions 7.1.0, 6.1.2, and 5.3.4, the URL is unescaped and normalized before any further processing.
| Software | Affected versions |
|---|---|
webpack / webpack-dev-middleware
|
>= 7.0.0, < 7.1.0 |
|
webpack / webpack-dev-middleware
|
>= 6.0.0, < 6.1.2 |
|
webpack / webpack-dev-middleware
|
< 5.3.4 |
| webpack.js / webpack-dev-middleware | < 5.3.4 |
| webpack.js / webpack-dev-middleware | >= 6.0.0, < 6.1.2 |
| webpack.js / webpack-dev-middleware | >= 7.0.0, < 7.1.0 |
- https://github.com/webpack/webpack-dev-middleware/blob/7ed24e0b9f53ad1562343f9f517f0f0ad2a70377/src/utils/getFilenameFromUrl.js#L82
- https://github.com/webpack/webpack-dev-middleware/blob/7ed24e0b9f53ad1562343f9f517f0f0ad2a70377/src/utils/setupOutputFileSystem.js#L21
- https://github.com/webpack/webpack-dev-middleware/commit/189c4ac7d2344ec132a4689e74dc837ec5be0132
- https://github.com/webpack/webpack-dev-middleware/commit/9670b3495da518fe667ff3428c5e4cb9f2f3d353
- https://github.com/webpack/webpack-dev-middleware/commit/e10008c762e4d5821ed6990348dabf0d4d93a10e
- https://github.com/webpack/webpack-dev-middleware/releases/tag/v5.3.4
- https://github.com/webpack/webpack-dev-middleware/releases/tag/v6.1.2
- https://github.com/webpack/webpack-dev-middleware/releases/tag/v7.1.0
- https://github.com/webpack/webpack-dev-middleware/security/advisories/GHSA-wr3j-pwj9-hqq6
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A security vulnerability is a weakness in software, hardware, or configuration that can be exploited to compromise confidentiality, integrity, or availability. Many vulnerabilities are tracked as CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures), which provide a standardized identifier so teams can coordinate patching, mitigation, and risk assessment across tools and vendors.
CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) estimates technical severity, but it doesn't automatically equal business risk. Prioritize using context like internet exposure, affected asset criticality, known exploitation (proof-of-concept or in-the-wild), and whether compensating controls exist. A "Medium" CVSS on an exposed, production system can be more urgent than a "Critical" on an isolated, non-production host.
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Recurring findings usually come from incomplete Asset Discovery, inconsistent patch management, inherited images, and configuration drift. In modern environments, you also need to watch the software supply chain: dependencies, containers, build pipelines, and third-party services can reintroduce the same weakness even after you patch a single host. Unknown or unmanaged assets (often called Shadow IT) are a common reason the same issues resurface.
Use a simple, repeatable triage model: focus first on externally exposed assets, high-value systems (identity, VPN, email, production), vulnerabilities with known exploits, and issues that enable remote code execution or privilege escalation. Then enforce patch SLAs and track progress using consistent metrics so remediation is steady, not reactive.
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