Description
Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in Apache Camel FTP component.



This issue affects Apache Camel: from 4.0.0 before 4.18.5, from 4.19.0 before 4.22.1.



The Camel remote-file consumers poll a directory on a remote server and build the absolute remote path of each file by concatenating the configured directory with the file name reported in the server's directory listing. That concatenation (FtpUtils.absoluteFilePath and GenericFileConsumer) applied no lexical normalization and no check that the result stayed inside the directory being polled, and the resulting path became the operand for every subsequent remote operation on the file: retrieval (FtpOperations.retrieveFile / SftpOperations, reached from GenericFileConsumer where the retrieve name is taken verbatim from GenericFile.getAbsoluteFilePath), deletion when delete=true (GenericFileDeleteProcessStrategy), and renaming when move, preMove, moveFailed or readLock=rename is configured (GenericFileProcessStrategySupport and GenericFileRenameExclusiveReadLockStrategy). Neither isValidFile nor isMatched performed any containment check. A listing entry that is not a single path segment therefore resolved to a path outside the configured polling directory, causing Camel to read, delete or rename files outside it using the endpoint's own credentials. A listing name is not route-controlled data. It is supplied by the remote server, and the FTP control channel carries no integrity protection at all, so an on-path attacker can rewrite a LIST response without holding any credentials; a compromised, malicious or multi-tenant server, or a server backed by a virtual filesystem, can emit such a name directly. Retrieval is reachable in a default consumer configuration, since the remote consumers download every listed file; deletion and renaming additionally require one of the disposition options above, all of which are common. Escape from the directory Camel was configured to poll is unconditional, while escape from the server's own account boundary additionally depends on whether that server confines the account. The jailStartingDirectory option, which is documented as restricting Camel to the starting directory and is enabled by default, governed producer writes and, since the localWorkDirectory containment work, consumer downloads to the local work directory - but it did not constrain this remote operand, so its name and description claimed a boundary that was not enforced here. The same entry point had already been recognised on the local side: the localWorkDirectory download path was constrained so that a remote file name containing parent-directory segments could not resolve outside the local work directory. The remote operand was the remaining half of that surface. This artifact provides the ftp, ftps and sftp schemes, all of which are affected. The reporter demonstrated the issue end to end against an ftp endpoint, driving a Camel route with a malicious server whose LIST response named a file outside the polled directory.



Upgrade to Apache Camel 4.23.0, which fixes the issue. Users on the 4.22.x releases stream should upgrade to 4.22.1. Users on the 4.18.x LTS releases stream should upgrade to 4.18.5. The 4.14.x stream reached end of life and does not receive this fix; users on it should move to a supported releases stream.
Published: 2026-10-19
Score: 7.4 High
EPSS: n/a
KEV: No
Impact: Unauthorized File Access and Modification
Action: Immediate Patch
AI Analysis

Impact

This vulnerability permits a remote FTP server to manipulate the directory listing so that Camel concatenates a file name containing directory traversal segments with the configured polling directory. Because no normalization or containment check is performed, Camel can resolve the resulting path outside the intended directory, leading to unauthorized reads, deletions, or renames of files that the Camel process can access with its credentials. The flaw is a classic path traversal condition (CWE‑22) that enables an attacker, without authentication to the Camel application, to influence remote file operations on the server.

Affected Systems

Apache Camel is affected in versions from 4.0.0 up to but not including 4.18.5, and from 4.19.0 up to but not including 4.22.1. The FTP, FTPS, and SFTP components under these releases may allow malicious directory listings to cause file path resolution outside the configured polling directory, affecting all deployments that poll external servers using these protocols.

Risk and Exploitability

The CVSS score of 7.4 indicates a high severity vulnerability. No EPSS score is publicly available, so the current exploitation probability is unknown, but the flaw is documented as not being in the CISA KEV catalog. The attack vector is remote and requires an attacker controlling the FTP server or an on-path attacker able to modify the LIST response; since the control channel lacks integrity protection, such manipulation does not need authentication. Successful exploitation grants the attacker unauthorized read, delete, or rename capabilities on the remote server’s filesystem using Camel’s credentials.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on October 19, 2026 at 11:22 UTC.

Remediation

Vendor Solution

Upgrade to Apache Camel 4.23.0, which fixes the issue. Users on the 4.22.x releases stream should upgrade to 4.22.1. Users on the 4.18.x LTS releases stream should upgrade to 4.18.5. The 4.14.x stream reached end of life and does not receive this fix; users on it should move to a supported releases stream. The fix adds a separator-aware GenericFileHelper.isWithinDirectory overload, since remote paths always use a forward slash regardless of the platform Camel runs on, and a GenericFileConsumer.isWithinStartingDirectory strategy consulted from isValidFile when jailStartingDirectory is enabled. The base implementation is a no-op, because names obtained from a local directory listing are always single path segments; RemoteFileConsumer and SmbConsumer override it to compact the resolved path and verify on path-segment boundaries that it still resolves inside the directory being polled. A file resolving outside is skipped and a warning is logged, rather than raising, so that the remaining legitimate entries in the same listing still process. Containment was chosen over stripping the path component because remote directories are legitimately nested and a parent-directory segment that still resolves back inside the polled directory remains valid. The check runs after the existing match filters so that the "." and ".." entries returned by SFTP servers, which the hidden-file rule already excludes, do not log on every poll. The change adds no new module dependency.

Vendor Workaround

For deployments that cannot upgrade immediately, prefer the encrypted transports, sftp or ftps rather than ftp, so that a directory listing cannot be rewritten in transit by an on-path attacker, and verify the server's host key or certificate. Constrain the consumer with the filter, antInclude or include options so that only simple single-segment file names are accepted, and avoid enabling delete=true, move, preMove, moveFailed or readLock=rename on endpoints pointing at a server whose listing content is not fully trusted, since those options are what turn the issue from a read into a destructive operation. Where the server supports it, confine the account used by the endpoint to the polled directory, so that the server itself enforces the boundary independently of Camel. As defence in depth, treat file names reported by any remote server outside the route's trust boundary as untrusted input.

OpenCVE Recommended Actions

  • Upgrade Apache Camel to a fixed version—4.23.0, or the appropriate sub‑release for your stream (4.22.1 for 4.22.x, 4.18.5 for 4.18.x LTS).
  • If an upgrade cannot be performed immediately, switch to encrypted transports (SFTP or FTPS) and verify the server’s host key or certificate to prevent on‑path manipulation.
  • Configure the consumer to accept only simple single‑segment file names by using include, antInclude, or filter options, and avoid enabling delete=true, move, preMove, moveFailed, or readLock=rename on endpoints pointing at untrusted servers.
  • Restrict the FTP account used by the endpoint to the polled directory on the server side, so that the server enforces the boundary independently of Camel.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on October 19, 2026 at 11:22 UTC.

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History

Mon, 19 Oct 2026 10:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in Apache Camel FTP component. This issue affects Apache Camel: from 4.0.0 before 4.18.5, from 4.19.0 before 4.22.1. The Camel remote-file consumers poll a directory on a remote server and build the absolute remote path of each file by concatenating the configured directory with the file name reported in the server's directory listing. That concatenation (FtpUtils.absoluteFilePath and GenericFileConsumer) applied no lexical normalization and no check that the result stayed inside the directory being polled, and the resulting path became the operand for every subsequent remote operation on the file: retrieval (FtpOperations.retrieveFile / SftpOperations, reached from GenericFileConsumer where the retrieve name is taken verbatim from GenericFile.getAbsoluteFilePath), deletion when delete=true (GenericFileDeleteProcessStrategy), and renaming when move, preMove, moveFailed or readLock=rename is configured (GenericFileProcessStrategySupport and GenericFileRenameExclusiveReadLockStrategy). Neither isValidFile nor isMatched performed any containment check. A listing entry that is not a single path segment therefore resolved to a path outside the configured polling directory, causing Camel to read, delete or rename files outside it using the endpoint's own credentials. A listing name is not route-controlled data. It is supplied by the remote server, and the FTP control channel carries no integrity protection at all, so an on-path attacker can rewrite a LIST response without holding any credentials; a compromised, malicious or multi-tenant server, or a server backed by a virtual filesystem, can emit such a name directly. Retrieval is reachable in a default consumer configuration, since the remote consumers download every listed file; deletion and renaming additionally require one of the disposition options above, all of which are common. Escape from the directory Camel was configured to poll is unconditional, while escape from the server's own account boundary additionally depends on whether that server confines the account. The jailStartingDirectory option, which is documented as restricting Camel to the starting directory and is enabled by default, governed producer writes and, since the localWorkDirectory containment work, consumer downloads to the local work directory - but it did not constrain this remote operand, so its name and description claimed a boundary that was not enforced here. The same entry point had already been recognised on the local side: the localWorkDirectory download path was constrained so that a remote file name containing parent-directory segments could not resolve outside the local work directory. The remote operand was the remaining half of that surface. This artifact provides the ftp, ftps and sftp schemes, all of which are affected. The reporter demonstrated the issue end to end against an ftp endpoint, driving a Camel route with a malicious server whose LIST response named a file outside the polled directory. Upgrade to Apache Camel 4.23.0, which fixes the issue. Users on the 4.22.x releases stream should upgrade to 4.22.1. Users on the 4.18.x LTS releases stream should upgrade to 4.18.5. The 4.14.x stream reached end of life and does not receive this fix; users on it should move to a supported releases stream.
Title Apache Camel: camel-ftp resolved the remote path of a polled file from the name reported in the server directory listing without constraining it to the directory being polled, so a listing entry containing traversal segments could be moved outside
Weaknesses CWE-22
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.4, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N'}

Subscriptions

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cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: apache

Published:

Updated: 2026-10-19T10:08:47.401Z

Reserved: 2026-08-25T16:19:42.700Z

Link: CVE-2026-79983

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

Status : Received

Published: 2026-10-19T11:17:20.207

Modified: 2026-10-19T11:17:20.207

Link: CVE-2026-79983

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-10-19T11:30:16Z

Weaknesses
  • CWE-22

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