CVE-2025-64712
📋 TL;DR
A path traversal vulnerability in the unstructured library's partition_msg function allows attackers to write or overwrite arbitrary files on the filesystem when processing malicious MSG files with attachments. This affects any system using unstructured library versions before 0.18.18 to process MSG files. The high CVSS score of 9.8 indicates critical severity with low attack complexity.
💻 Affected Systems
- unstructured library
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system compromise through arbitrary file write leading to remote code execution, data destruction, or persistent backdoor installation.
Likely Case
Data corruption, denial of service, or sensitive information exposure through file overwrites in web applications processing user-uploaded MSG files.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper file system permissions, sandboxing, and input validation preventing traversal outside designated directories.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires only a malicious MSG file to be processed by the vulnerable function.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 0.18.18
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/Unstructured-IO/unstructured/security/advisories/GHSA-gm8q-m8mv-jj5m
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Update unstructured library to version 0.18.18 or later using pip: pip install --upgrade unstructured>=0.18.18
2. Verify the update completed successfully
3. Test MSG file processing functionality
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable MSG file processing
allTemporarily disable processing of MSG files until patching is complete
Modify application code to skip or reject MSG files before calling partition_msg
Implement input validation
allAdd validation to reject MSG files with suspicious attachment paths
Implement file path validation before processing attachments
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict file system permissions limiting write access to minimal necessary directories
- Run the application in a sandboxed/containerized environment with restricted filesystem access
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check if unstructured library version is below 0.18.18 and if the application processes MSG filesCheck Version:
python -c "import unstructured; print(unstructured.__version__)"Verify Fix Applied:
Confirm unstructured library version is 0.18.18 or higher and test MSG file processing📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual file write operations during MSG processing
- Errors from partition_msg function
- Failed path traversal attempts in application logs
Network Indicators:
- Uploads of MSG files to web applications using unstructured library
SIEM Query:
source="application.log" AND "partition_msg" AND (".." OR "/" OR "\")