CVE-2026-42028
Received Received - Intake
Path Traversal in novaGallery PHP Image Gallery

Publication date: 2026-05-08

Last updated on: 2026-05-08

Assigner: GitHub, Inc.

Description
novaGallery is a php image gallery. Prior to version 2.1.1, a path traversal vulnerability has been identified in novaGallery. This allows unauthenticated users to read image files outside the intended gallery root directory. This issue has been patched in version 2.1.1.
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Meta Information
Published
2026-05-08
Last Modified
2026-05-08
Generated
2026-06-19
AI Q&A
2026-05-08
EPSS Evaluated
2026-06-18
NVD
CVE-2026-42028
EUVD
EUVD-2026-28806
Affected Vendors & Products
Showing 2 associated CPEs
Vendor Product Version / Range
novagallery novagallery to 2.1.1 (exc)
novafacile novagallery to 2.1.1 (exc)
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
CWE
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KEV
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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.
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Mitigation Strategies

To mitigate this vulnerability, upgrade novaGallery to version 2.1.1 or later, where the path traversal issue has been patched.

Compliance Impact

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.

Detection Guidance

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.

Executive Summary

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.

Impact Analysis

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.

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