VulnerabilityPublished 9 Jul 2025

CVE-2025-44177: White Star Software Protop · Path Traversal

Source CVE Database V5

Public exploit available (Exploit-DB) · CVSS 8.2 High.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

8.2High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 4.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 91% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: Low
Integrity: High
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the impacted component.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

t = 0 is the CVE’s publication on cve.org

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 9 Jul 2025
Detectable: evidence found.
nuclei template: White Star Software ProTop - Directory Traversal
Weaponised: evidence found.
1 Exploit-DB entry, 7 days after disclosure
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

CVE ID reserved
by MITRE Corporation
22 Apr 2025, 78 days before disclosure
CVE published
on cve.org
9 Jul 2025, t = 0
In Threat Radar
record ingested
9 Jul 202515:54 UTC, the same day as disclosure
First Exploit-DB entry (opens in a new tab)
White Star Software Protop 4.4.2-2024-11-27 - Local File Inclusion (LFI)
16 Jul 2025, 7 days after disclosure

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

AI-suggested

Immediate mitigation should include restricting external access to the /pt3upd/ endpoint via network segmentation or firewall rules to limit exposure to untrusted networks.
Implement web application firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block encoded directory traversal payloads targeting the vulnerable endpoint.
Conduct thorough input validation and sanitization on all user-supplied path parameters, ensuring traversal sequences such as '../' or their encoded equivalents are properly handled or rejected.
Monitor logs for unusual access patterns or attempts to exploit directory traversal, focusing on requests to /pt3upd/.
Engage with White Star Software for official patches or updates addressing this vulnerability and prioritize their deployment once available.
As a temporary workaround, consider disabling or limiting functionality of the /pt3upd/ endpoint if feasible without impacting critical operations.
Perform internal audits to identify any sensitive files accessible via traversal and implement additional file system permissions to restrict access.
Educate IT and security teams about this vulnerability to ensure rapid detection and response to potential exploitation attempts.

Description

A directory traversal vulnerability was discovered in White Star Software Protop version 4.4.2-2024-11-27, specifically in the /pt3upd/ endpoint. An unauthenticated attacker can remotely read arbitrary files on the underlying OS using encoded traversal sequences.

Impact

For European organizations using White Star Software Protop version 4.4.2-2024-11-27, this vulnerability poses a substantial risk. The ability for unauthenticated attackers to read arbitrary files can lead to exposure of sensitive configuration files, credentials, or proprietary data, potentially enabling further compromise or lateral movement within networks. Given the high integrity impact, attackers could use the information obtained to manipulate system behavior or escalate privileges indirectly. This is particularly concerning for sectors with stringent data protection requirements such as finance, healthcare, and critical infrastructure, where unauthorized data disclosure or system manipulation could result in regulatory penalties, operational disruption, or reputational damage. The network-accessible nature of the vulnerability increases the attack surface, especially for organizations with externally facing Protop services. The absence of known exploits currently provides a window for proactive defense, but the high CVSS score underscores the urgency for mitigation. European organizations must consider this vulnerability within their risk management frameworks, especially those relying on White Star Software products in their operational technology or enterprise environments.

CWE-22Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #6OWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory.
Implementation · Input Validation
Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does.
Architecture and Design
For any security checks that are performed on the client side, ensure that these checks are duplicated on the server side, in order to avoid CWE-602. Attackers can bypass the client-side checks by modifying values after the checks have been performed, or by changing the client to remove the client-side checks…
Implementation · Input Validation
Inputs should be decoded and canonicalized to the application's current internal representation before being validated (CWE-180). Make sure that the application does not decode the same input twice (CWE-174).
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V12.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Path Traversal (opens in a new tab)
Using Slashes and URL Encoding Combined to Bypass Validation Logic (opens in a new tab)
Manipulating Web Input to File System Calls (opens in a new tab)
Using Escaped Slashes in Alternate Encoding (opens in a new tab)
Using Slashes in Alternate Encoding (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

Timeline

What to do

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 16 Jul 2025, 21:11 UTC

Public exploits and detection1 Exploit-DB entry, a Nuclei detection template

WeaknessesCWE-22

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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