GHSA-9gjv-jvm7-vv2v json
Gramps Web API: Private Sub-Object Data in Non-Private Objects Exposed to Guest Users
published 7mo ago modified 7mo ago
- cvss
- —
- not scored
- cisa kev
- Not listed
- not in CISA's catalog
- epss
- —
- no score, EPSS covers CVEs only
- public exploits
- 0
- none known
Summary
## Summary
Users with the **Guest** role could receive private sub-object data (e.g. private alternate names, private addresses, private note/citation/media handles) through list API endpoints such as `GET /api/people/`, `GET /api/places/`, `GET /api/events/`, and all other object list endpoints.
**This does not expose objects (people, places, events, …) that are themselves marked private.** Top-level private objects are correctly excluded from all responses. Only sub-object data attached to otherwise-public objects is affected.
## Affected Versions
All versions of Gramps Web API prior to the fix.
## Root Cause
The vulnerability originates from the behaviour of `PrivateProxyDb.iter_*()` in **Gramps core**. The `ProxyDbBase.__iter_object()` helper, which backs all `iter_*()` methods in `PrivateProxyDb`, correctly filters out top-level private objects but returns the remaining objects **unsanitized** — i.e. without stripping private sub-object references. In contrast, `PrivateProxyDb.get_*_from_handle()` does call the appropriate `sanitize_*()` function.
Gramps Web API's `ModifiedPrivateProxyDb` (which wraps the raw database for non-admin users) inherited this behaviour without override.
The same issue affects Gramps desktop features that consume `iter_*()` output: reports and exports generated via Gramps desktop using `PrivateProxyDb` may also include private sub-object data that should have been stripped.
## Conditions Required
**This issue only affects trees in which sub-objects have been explicitly marked private in Gramps desktop.** The Gramps Web frontend UI does not expose controls for setting the private flag on sub-objects (alternate names, addresses, notes, citations, media references, event references, etc.). In practice, such flags are set in Gramps desktop and then synced or imported into Gramps Web.
## Impact
When the conditions above are met, a user with the Guest role querying any list endpoint receives:
- **Full content** of private embedded sub-objects on people, such as alternate names (first name, surname, etc.) and addresses (street, city, etc.). - **Handles referencing** private notes, citations, and media attached to places, events, sources, and other objects. These reveal the *existence* of private linked objects but not their content; fetching those objects by handle is correctly blocked by the proxy.
## Fix
`ModifiedPrivateProxyDb` now overrides all `iter_*()` object methods to check `obj.get_privacy()` directly on the already-loaded object (eliminating the redundant per-object refetch) and to call the appropriate `sanitize_*()` function before yielding each object. This is consistent with the behaviour of `get_*_from_handle()` in `PrivateProxyDb`.
Patch / fix
Is GHSA-9gjv-jvm7-vv2v in your dependencies? Fencer shows which of your repositories are affected as soon as an advisory lands, and opens the fix as a pull request.
Check with FencerAffected packages
| ecosystem | package | affected | fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| pypi | gramps-webapi | <3.11.0 |
3.11.0 |
Classification
- Weakness
-
- CWE-200 Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor
References
Sources
- GitHub Advisory GHSA-9gjv-jvm7-vv2v
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