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ArcadeDB: IMPORT DATABASE allows SSRF and arbitrary local file read by authenticated users

High severity GitHub Reviewed Published Jun 5, 2026 in ArcadeData/arcadedb

Package

maven com.arcadedb:arcadedb-engine (Maven)

Affected versions

< 26.6.1

Patched versions

26.6.1

Description

Impact

The SQL IMPORT DATABASE statement did not require administrative privileges and passed its source URL to the importer without validation. Any authenticated user with SQL command access (not only root/administrators) could therefore:

  • Server-Side Request Forgery (CWE-918): cause the server to issue HTTP(S) requests to arbitrary destinations, including cloud metadata endpoints (e.g. 169.254.169.254) and internal-only services, and ingest the responses as queryable records.
  • Arbitrary local file read (CWE-22): read local files reachable by the server process (e.g. /etc/passwd, credential files) by importing file:// paths, exposing their contents as records.

The server administration endpoint (/api/v1/server) was already restricted to the root user and was not affected; the exposure was through the database SQL command/query endpoints (/api/v1/command, /api/v1/query).

A related lower-severity hardening gap (CWE-776): the XML importer did not disable DTD processing, leaving entity-expansion (Billion Laughs) possible.

Affected component

integration/src/main/java/com/arcadedb/integration/importer/SourceDiscovery.java (no host allow-list for http(s); no path validation for file://), reached from engine/.../query/sql/parser/ImportDatabaseStatement.java.

Patches

  • IMPORT DATABASE now requires the administrative updateSecurity permission (no-op in embedded mode).
  • Import sources are validated in SourceDiscovery: HTTP(S) hosts resolving to loopback / link-local / private (site-local) / wildcard / multicast addresses are blocked by default (arcadedb.server.security.importBlockLocalNetworks, default true), and an optional local-path allow-list (arcadedb.server.security.importAllowedLocalPaths) restricts file:// reads.
  • The XML importer now disables DTD processing and external entities.

Fixed in commit referenced by pull request #4422.

Workarounds

Restrict SQL command/query access to trusted administrative users; do not grant query access to untrusted users on servers that can reach sensitive networks or hold sensitive local files. Upgrading is strongly recommended.

Credit

Reported by Bin Luo (luob87709@gmail.com).

References

@robfrank robfrank published to ArcadeData/arcadedb Jun 5, 2026
Published to the GitHub Advisory Database Jul 16, 2026
Reviewed Jul 16, 2026

Severity

High

CVSS overall score

This score calculates overall vulnerability severity from 0 to 10 and is based on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS).
/ 10

CVSS v3 base metrics

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
Low

CVSS v3 base metrics

Attack vector: More severe the more the remote (logically and physically) an attacker can be in order to exploit the vulnerability.
Attack complexity: More severe for the least complex attacks.
Privileges required: More severe if no privileges are required.
User interaction: More severe when no user interaction is required.
Scope: More severe when a scope change occurs, e.g. one vulnerable component impacts resources in components beyond its security scope.
Confidentiality: More severe when loss of data confidentiality is highest, measuring the level of data access available to an unauthorized user.
Integrity: More severe when loss of data integrity is the highest, measuring the consequence of data modification possible by an unauthorized user.
Availability: More severe when the loss of impacted component availability is highest.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:L

EPSS score

Weaknesses

Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')

The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory. Learn more on MITRE.

Improper Restriction of Recursive Entity References in DTDs ('XML Entity Expansion')

The product uses XML documents and allows their structure to be defined with a Document Type Definition (DTD), but it does not properly control the number of recursive definitions of entities. Learn more on MITRE.

Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF)

The web server receives a URL or similar request from an upstream component and retrieves the contents of this URL, but it does not sufficiently ensure that the request is being sent to the expected destination. Learn more on MITRE.

CVE ID

CVE-2026-54077

GHSA ID

GHSA-8w86-m9h8-hvqg

Source code

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