- 9.3CriticalCVSS base score
- 0.47%Exploitation in 30 daysEPSS · top 58% of all CVEs
- NoKnown exploitednot in CISA's KEV catalog
- NonePublic exploitsnone known yet
Description
Metacat is data repository software that helps researchers preserve, share, and discover data. Versions 2.x through 2.19.1 and all 1.x versions contain an unauthenticated path traversal in the `archiveEntryName` parameter of the `action=read` endpoint that is part of the original 1.x Metacat API. `ArchiveHandler.readArchiveEntry()` concatenates the user-supplied parameter into a filesystem path without validation, and the surrounding `hasReadPermission()` check is commented out. An unauthenticated remote attacker can read any file accessible to the Tomcat process by sending a single GET request. Proof-of-concept exploits have been demonstrated and verified against this vulnerability, and it should be considered easily exploitable for any Metacat deployment < 3.0.0 by any user with access to the 1.x API. Through this vulnerability, production 2.x deployments are exposed to credential theft, client certificate and private key exfiltration enabling member node impersonation within the federation, embargoed research data disclosure, and broad system reconnaissance. Given Metacat's deployment footprint across the DataONE network of repositories and federally funded research programs, the population of exposed 2.x instances is non-trivial. The vulnerability was eliminated in Metacat version 3.0.0 and after by eliminating the entire Metacat 1.x API that exposed this vulnerability. The vulnerability was remediated in April 2024 with the release of Metacat 3.0.0, which removed the legacy Metacat API including ArchiveHandler.java. The commit message and issue reference architectural cleanup, not a security fix, and no advisory or CVE was issued. The 2.x branch was not and will not be backported, as is standard practice in Metacat, which only supports the most current release. 2.19.1 remains vulnerable with identical code and is beyond its supported lifetime. As a workaround, disable or restrict 1.x API servlets. Because the vulnerable 1.x API is no longer used or necessary in most Metacat deployments, restricting access to the old API endpoints can reduce or eliminate exposure for 2.19.x deployments. After removing those features, restart Tomcat or whichever software is hosting the servlets.
Timeline
ID reserved
By GitHub_M
- 3 months later
· 3 months later
Published
Changes after publication (a new score, a public exploit, EPSS crossing 1, 10 or 50 %, leaving KEV) are kept since November 2026; earlier ones are not known.
Scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub_MCNA (assigner) | 3.1 | Critical9.3 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N |
| NVDNVD · Deferred | 3.1 | Critical9.3 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N |
- EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
- 0.47% · top 58% of all CVEs (11 Nov 2026)
- CISA SSVC
- Exploitation: none · Automatable: yes · Technical impact: partial
The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: Critical 9.3.
Affected products
References
References4
- https://github.com/NCEAS/metacat/security/advisories/GHSA-m852-f287-7cgw (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://github.com/NCEAS/metacat/issues/1365 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/NCEAS/metacat/pull/1713 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/NCEAS/metacat/commit/07e034b2bbf7029e28af32f472f4d70ea6b5ab1b (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISC
Sources
The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.
- CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
- CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
- NVD (opens in a new tab)
- FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
- EUVD EUVD-2026-55673 (opens in a new tab)
- OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
- GitHub Advisories (opens in a new tab)
- CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)
Badge for a README or a ticket
[](https://cveledger.app/cve/CVE-2026-47754)Record last updated .