Beiyuouo Arxiv-Daily Directory Traversal Vulnerability

A directory traversal vulnerability has been identified in the Beiyuouo Arxiv-Daily project, specifically in versions prior to the patch available through May 6, 2025. This vulnerability arises from the application's failure to properly sanitize user-controlled input in the topic.yml file, allowing maliciously crafted topics or subtopics to create files or directories outside the intended docs/ directory. Exploitation of this vulnerability could lead to the creation of arbitrary files, overwriting of sensitive files, or a denial-of-service condition by filling up disk space or corrupting configuration files.

Impact

Exploitation of this vulnerability allows for arbitrary file writing outside the designated docs/ directory, potentially overwriting critical files such as .bashrc or crontab. Additionally, it can cause a denial-of-service by filling up disk space or corrupting configuration files.

Reproduction

To reproduce this vulnerability, create a topic.yml file with malicious topic or subtopic values that include path traversal patterns, such as '../'. Then, run the daily_arxiv.py script. This will result in the creation of a directory outside the docs/ directory, demonstrating the directory traversal exploit.

Remediation

Users are advised to manually inspect topic.yml files for unsafe characters like '../' and to run the tool in a container or jailed environment to limit potential damage.