Apache bRPC: Arbitrary file creation/truncation via /flags and unbounded profiling duration via /pprof

MITRE NVD CVE.ORG JSON API

Summary

CVECVE-2026-86147
StatePUBLISHED
Assignerapache
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2026-10-21 13:20:04 UTC
Updated2026-10-21 13:20:04 UTC
DescriptionExternal control of file name or path and uncontrolled resource consumption in Apache bRPC (version < 1.18.0) on all platforms allows remote attackers who can reach the builtin service port to create directories and truncate/overwrite files with the privileges of the server process, or to hold the process-wide CPU/contention profiler for an arbitrarily long time. Root Cause: 1. The builtin /flags service allows gflags carrying a validator to be modified at runtime via ?setvalue=. The bvar/mbvar dump path gflags (bvar_dump_file, bvar_dump_tabs, mbvar_dump_file) were registered with an accept-anything validator whose only purpose was to wake the dumping thread. A remote attacker could therefore repoint the dump path (e.g. GET /flags/bvar_dump_file?setvalue=/victim/dir/target followed by GET /flags/bvar_dump?setvalue=true, or the equivalent for mbvar_dump_file, which is used verbatim without a forced suffix), making the dumping thread recursively create directories and open/truncate files at attacker-chosen locations. Tab names in bvar_dump_tabs were appended to the path without sanitization, allowing '..' to escape the configured directory. 2. The /pprof builtin service did not clamp the ?seconds= parameter to FLAGS_max_profiling_seconds (a limit that /hotspots enforced). A single request such as ?seconds=2147483647 made the handler sleep for decades while holding the process-wide gperftools CPU profiler or bthread contention profiler, so /hotspots/cpu and /hotspots/contention returned 503 for everyone else during that time. Affected Scenarios: Any Apache bRPC server exposing the builtin services (enabled by default on the same port as normal RPC traffic) to untrusted networks. How to Fix: (Choose one of the following options) 1. Upgrade bRPC to version 1.18.0, which fixes this issue. 2. Apply this patch: https://github.com/apache/brpc/pull/3523 Note: After the fix, bvar_dump_file, bvar_dump_tabs and mbvar_dump_file can no longer be modified at runtime through the /flags builtin service. They can still be changed programmatically via google::SetCommandLineOption(), taking effect on the next dump cycle. The profiling duration of /pprof is now capped by the -max_profiling_seconds gflag (default 300 seconds), which can be adjusted by the server owner.

Risk And Classification

Problem Types: CWE-73 | CWE-400 | CWE-73 CWE-73 External Control of File Name or Path | CWE-400 CWE-400 Uncontrolled Resource Consumption

Vendor Declared Affected Products

SourceVendorProductVersionPlatforms
CNA Apache Software Foundation Apache BRPC affected 1.18.0 semver Not specified

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
lists.apache.org/thread/2pf15ojj0vr7rtx95677kgtl1mx3gdgb [email protected] lists.apache.org
CVE Program record CVE.ORG www.cve.org canonical
NVD vulnerability detail NVD nvd.nist.gov canonical, analysis

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