Description

TEN Framework 0.11.71 contains unauthenticated arbitrary file read and write vulnerabilities in the TMAN Designer file-content API endpoints. Attackers can submit POST and PUT requests to the /api/designer/v1/file-content endpoints to read arbitrary files or write malicious content to system paths, enabling code execution through authorized_keys, cron files, or executable graph files.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "9.8",
  "pubDate": "2026-09-04T15:17:46.657Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-09-04T15:17:46.657Z",
  "executiveSummary": "TEN Framework version 0.11.71 is susceptible to critical unauthenticated arbitrary file read and write vulnerabilities within the TMAN Designer component.\nThese vulnerabilities reside in the /api/designer/v1/file-content endpoints, which fail to enforce necessary authentication and authorization controls.\nThe flaw allows remote, unauthenticated attackers to read sensitive system files and overwrite arbitrary files across the underlying filesystem.\nBy manipulating file contents, an attacker can achieve remote code execution (RCE) by targeting system-critical configurations, such as SSH authorized_keys, cron job scheduling files, or executable graph files used by the framework.\nGiven the ability to read and write files without restriction, this vulnerability poses a severe risk to confidentiality, integrity, and availability, effectively granting full system compromise to an attacker with network access to the API endpoints.",
  "technicalDetails": "The vulnerability is located within the TMAN Designer service of the TEN Framework, specifically targeting the /api/designer/v1/file-content API endpoints. These endpoints are designed to facilitate file manipulation but fail to implement adequate authentication mechanisms, rendering them accessible to any unauthenticated user with network connectivity to the service.\nThe root cause of the vulnerability is improper input validation and sanitization combined with a lack of access control on API endpoints that handle file I/O operations. The application does not effectively restrict file system access, allowing users to supply arbitrary file paths via POST and PUT request parameters.\nExploitation is achieved through the following attack flow: An attacker sends crafted POST requests to the target endpoint to perform arbitrary file reads, potentially exfiltrating sensitive configuration files, credentials, or system data. Subsequently, the attacker can leverage PUT requests to overwrite files with arbitrary, attacker-supplied content.\nThe impact of these file write operations is critical. By targeting system paths, an attacker can gain command execution through several vectors: 1) Appending malicious public keys to the '~/.ssh/authorized_keys' file to establish persistent unauthorized access via SSH. 2) Modifying or creating cron job scripts in '/etc/cron.d/' or user-specific crontabs to execute malicious payloads with the privileges of the service user. 3) Overwriting executable graph files utilized by the TEN Framework to inject arbitrary logic or malicious code that the application engine will subsequently execute.\nThe vulnerability is present in TEN Framework 0.11.71. Because the endpoints accept requests without requiring valid session tokens or administrative credentials, no specific privilege level is required for exploitation. The attack is fully reachable over the network and requires no prior knowledge of the target environment beyond the existence of the API endpoint structure."
}