MontFerret ferret versions before 2.0.0-alpha.4 contain a path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22) in the IO::FS::WRITE function. When scraping websites that return filenames with '../' sequences, an attacker can manipulate output paths and file contents, enabling arbitrary file writes on the host system. This can be exploited to achieve remote code execution by modifying critical files such as cron jobs, SSH authorized_keys, or shell profiles. The vulnerability is addressed in version 2.0.0-alpha.4.

The vulnerability allows an unauthenticated attacker who can control scraped filenames to write arbitrary files anywhere on the filesystem of the machine running Ferret. This can lead to remote code execution by injecting malicious content into files that are executed or loaded by the system, such as cron jobs or SSH authorized_keys. The CVSS score of 8.1 reflects high impact on integrity and availability with network attack vector and low attack complexity.

A fix is available in MontFerret ferret version 2.0.0-alpha.4. Users should upgrade to this version or later to remediate the vulnerability. No official temporary workaround or patch links are provided. Until upgrading, users should avoid scraping untrusted websites or processing filenames that contain path traversal sequences to reduce risk.