CVE-2026-42028
Path Traversal in novaGallery PHP Image Gallery
Publication date: 2026-05-08
Last updated on: 2026-05-08
Assigner: GitHub, Inc.
Description
Description
CVSS Scores
EPSS Scores
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Meta Information
Affected Vendors & Products
| Vendor | Product | Version / Range |
|---|---|---|
| novagallery | novagallery | to 2.1.1 (exc) |
| novafacile | novagallery | to 2.1.1 (exc) |
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
| CWE ID | Description |
|---|---|
| CWE-22 | 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. |
Attack-Flow Graph
AI Powered Q&A
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?
novaGallery is a PHP image gallery application. Before version 2.1.1, it contained a path traversal vulnerability. This vulnerability allows unauthenticated users to read image files located outside the intended gallery root directory by manipulating file paths.
How can this vulnerability impact me? :
This vulnerability can allow attackers who are not logged in to access image files outside the designated gallery directory. This could lead to unauthorized disclosure of sensitive or private images stored on the server.
What immediate steps should I take to mitigate this vulnerability?
To mitigate this vulnerability, upgrade novaGallery to version 2.1.1 or later, where the path traversal issue has been patched.
How does this vulnerability affect compliance with common standards and regulations (like GDPR, HIPAA)?:
The vulnerability allows unauthenticated users to read image files outside the intended gallery root directory, potentially exposing confidential or private image content.
Such unauthorized disclosure of sensitive data could lead to non-compliance with data protection regulations like GDPR or HIPAA, which require safeguarding personal and sensitive information against unauthorized access.
Therefore, if the exposed images contain personal or protected health information, this vulnerability could result in violations of these standards.
How can this vulnerability be detected on my network or system? Can you suggest some commands?
This vulnerability can be detected by monitoring HTTP requests to the novaGallery application for suspicious path traversal patterns in parameters related to album, size, or image.
Specifically, look for requests containing relative path segments such as ".." that attempt to access files outside the intended images directory.
Example commands to detect such attempts in web server logs include:
- Using grep to find path traversal attempts in Apache or Nginx logs: grep -E '\.\./|%2e%2e' /var/log/apache2/access.log
- Using curl to test the vulnerability by sending crafted requests: curl 'http://target/novagallery/?album=../../etc/passwd'
- Using intrusion detection systems (IDS) or web application firewalls (WAF) to alert on path traversal patterns in HTTP requests.
Since the vulnerability involves unauthenticated access via HTTP requests with manipulated path parameters, monitoring and filtering such requests is key to detection.