Description
Axel Download Accelerator 2.17.14 and earlier performs URL percent-decoding (http_decode()) on the output filename after the URL has been parsed and the filename component extracted. This allows an attacker to embed %2e%2e%2f (URL-encoded ../) sequences in the URL path. These sequences survive the URL parser intact (they contain no literal / characters) but are decoded into directory traversal sequences before the output file is opened for writing. As a result, a crafted URL can cause axel to write downloaded content to arbitrary filesystem paths relative to the current working directory.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Axel Download Accelerator | Axel | — | — |
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | axel | No fix yet | — |
| Debian 13 | axel | No fix yet | — |
| Debian 12 | axel | No fix yet | — |
References
- https://github.com/axel-download-accelerator/axel/issues/477 issue-tracking
- https://github.com/axel-download-accelerator/axel/pull/483/changes/4e76e1a1dd1c4ea11b445e2c45e4ee257c76314e patch
- https://github.com/axel-download-accelerator/axel/milestone/22 vendor-advisory
- https://advisories.orangecyberdefense.com/advisories/167 third-party-advisory