FearlessCMS: Unauthenticated debug scripts expose filesystem operations and XSS

Overview

FearlessCMS is a flat-file content management system centered on simplicity and open source. Prior to version 0.1.4, five debug/test PHP scripts under admin/ perform privileged operations without isLoggedIn() authentication checks, CSRF protection or adequate path validation. On PHP's built-in development server, including the default Docker deployment, router.php checks an unnormalized admin URI prefix while the filesystem resolves dot segments, so /./admin/ bypasses the admin login gate and executes those scripts directly. In admin/debug_save_flow.php, attacker-controlled path and content reach file_put_contents for arbitrary .md writes under content/ or outside it through path traversal, enabling site defacement and stored JavaScript in public pages; print_r($_POST) output without htmlspecialchars escaping also causes reflected cross-site scripting. The admin/debug_content.php path parameter reaches scandir(), file_get_contents() and posix_getpwuid(), permitting arbitrary directory enumeration and .md file reads that expose absolute paths, ownership, permissions, hashes and content previews. The admin/preview-handler.php endpoint accepts JSON content and title and writes enumerable files under content/_preview/, enabling stored cross-site scripting and disk exhaustion. The admin/testdebug.php endpoint appends to admin/testdebug.log without authentication, also enabling disk exhaustion. The admin/test_redirect.php script exposes a test artifact but escapes its inputs and is not itself an XSS sink. Stored script execution can steal sessions and compromise administrators when they view affected content. Reads and writes execute with PHP's privileges; the tested deployment runs PHP as root, amplifying filesystem impact. This issue is fixed in version 0.1.4.

Affected

• FearlessCMS < 0.1.4

Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.