Description

A path traversal vulnerability in the OTRS SendSupportBundle functionality allows an authenticated administrator to reference file paths outside the intended directory. This may allow files accessible to the OTRS application process to be deleted. The vulnerability does not bypass operating system file permissions. On OTRS versions prior to OTRS 7, the effective permissions of the web server process are relevant. Starting with OTRS 7, access is limited by the permissions of the dedicated OTRS user. Files with overly permissive ownership or file system permissions may therefore also be affected. The affected functionality may additionally attempt to include controlled files in a support bundle. However, support bundles are sent to a predefined OTRS support address, and direct disclosure of arbitrary files to the attacker has not been demonstrated. An attacker therefore requires valid administrative access to exploit the vulnerable functionality. The primary demonstrated impact is the deletion of files outside the intended directory within the effective permissions of the OTRS application process. This issue affects OTRS: * 7.0.X * 8.0.X * 2023.X * 2024.X * 2025.X * 2026.X before 2026.7.X Please note that ((OTRS)) Community Edition 6.x and before are vulnerable. Products based on the ((OTRS)) Community Edition also very likely to be affected

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "8.7",
  "pubDate": "2026-10-12T07:16:36.740Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-10-12T07:16:36.740Z",
  "executiveSummary": "An authenticated path traversal vulnerability exists within the OTRS SendSupportBundle functionality, enabling an administrative user to reference and delete arbitrary files outside of the intended application directory.\nThe vulnerability is restricted by the operating system file permissions assigned to the OTRS application process. While direct data exfiltration has not been demonstrated, the primary impact involves the unauthorized deletion of files accessible to the service account.\nThe scope of impact includes OTRS 7.0.X, 8.0.X, 2023.X, 2024.X, 2025.X, and 2026.X versions prior to 2026.7.X. ((OTRS)) Community Edition 6.x and earlier are also confirmed vulnerable.\nExploitation requires valid administrative privileges, significantly limiting the attack surface to malicious or compromised internal actors. However, successful exploitation could lead to system instability, service disruption, or data loss if critical configuration or system files are deleted.\nRemediation requires upgrading to the patched version of the software. Organizations are encouraged to follow the principle of least privilege regarding the OTRS service account permissions to minimize the potential impact of file system manipulation.",
  "technicalDetails": "The vulnerability resides in the SendSupportBundle functionality of OTRS, which fails to adequately sanitize user-supplied input before performing file system operations. This flaw allows an authenticated attacker to manipulate input parameters to reference directory paths outside of the intended operational directory, facilitating path traversal.\nThe root cause is a lack of input validation or path normalization within the code handling the support bundle generation process. By injecting directory traversal sequences (e.g., ../) into relevant parameters, an attacker can escape the restricted application root directory.\nThe exploitation flow begins with an attacker successfully authenticating to the OTRS platform with administrative privileges. The attacker accesses the SendSupportBundle interface and crafts a request containing a malicious payload designed to target a specific file path on the host system. Upon submission, the vulnerable code processes this input as a legitimate path, allowing the underlying application logic to perform operations on the targeted file, specifically file deletion.\nThe extent of the impact is strictly governed by the effective permissions of the OTRS service account. On systems running OTRS 7 and newer, this is typically a dedicated system user, limiting the scope of reachable files to those owned or accessible by that user. On legacy versions (OTRS 6.x and earlier), the vulnerability may inherit the permissions of the web server process, potentially exposing a broader range of sensitive configuration files or system assets.\nWhile the functionality also supports the inclusion of files within a support bundle, the system is designed to transmit these bundles to a predefined support address. This architecture serves as an effective barrier against direct file disclosure, as the attacker cannot easily intercept the bundle to extract exfiltrated data. Consequently, the primary demonstrated post-exploitation impact remains the unauthorized deletion of files rather than information disclosure.\nThis vulnerability highlights a critical security requirement to sanitize all user-controllable input used in file system APIs. Without proper validation, the application inadvertently grants an administrative user the capability to modify the server's file system integrity."
}