Summary
pyLoad caches role and permission in the session at login and continues to authorize requests using these cached values, even after an admin changes the user's role/permissions in the database.
As a result, an already logged-in user can keep old (revoked) privileges until logout/session expiry, enabling continued privileged actions.
This is a core authorization/session-consistency issue and is not resolved by toggling an optional security feature.
Details
The WebUI auth flow stores authorization state in session:
src/pyload/webui/app/helpers.py:187-200
set_session(...) writes:
"role": user_info["role"]
"perms": user_info["permission"]
Authorization checks later trust cached session values:
src/pyload/webui/app/helpers.py:134-151
parse_permissions(...) reads session.get("role") / session.get("perms")
src/pyload/webui/app/helpers.py:225-230
is_authenticated(...) only verifies authenticated and api.user_exists(user) (existence), not fresh role/permission
src/pyload/webui/app/helpers.py:267-275
login_required(...) uses parse_permissions(s) for allow/deny decisions
src/pyload/webui/app/helpers.py:356-365
- API session auth path also trusts
s["role"] and s["perms"]
Role/permission updates are written to DB but active sessions are not invalidated/refreshed:
src/pyload/webui/app/blueprints/json_blueprint.py:389-434
update_users(...) calls api.set_user_permission(...) and returns
src/pyload/core/api/__init__.py:1643-1645
set_user_permission(...) updates DB role/permission only
Default exposure window is long:
src/pyload/core/config/default.cfg:47
session_lifetime = 44640 minutes (~31 days)
Therefore, privilege revocation is not enforced immediately for active sessions.
Note on duplicates:
- This appears distinct from CVE-2023-0227 (session validity after user deletion) because this report is about stale authorization after role/permission changes while the user still exists.
PoC
#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""
Repro: stale session privilege after role/permission changes.
This PoC is source-based and leaves no persistent state.
It validates that:
1) Role/permission are cached into session at login.
2) Authorization checks read role/permission from session, not fresh DB values.
3) User updates write DB permission/role without invalidating active sessions.
4) Default session lifetime is long, increasing stale-privilege exposure window.
"""
from __future__ import annotations
import pathlib
import re
from typing import Iterable
ROOT = pathlib.Path(__file__).resolve().parent / "pyload" / "src" / "pyload"
def read(rel: str) -> str:
return (ROOT / rel).read_text(encoding="utf-8")
def has_any(text: str, patterns: Iterable[str]) -> bool:
return all(re.search(p, text, re.MULTILINE) for p in patterns)
def main() -> None:
helpers = read("webui/app/helpers.py")
json_blueprint = read("webui/app/blueprints/json_blueprint.py")
api_init = read("core/api/__init__.py")
default_cfg = (ROOT / "core/config/default.cfg").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
checks = {
"set_session_caches_role_perms": has_any(
helpers,
[
r'def\\s+set_session\\(',
r'"role"\\s*:\\s*user_info\\["role"\\]',
r'"perms"\\s*:\\s*user_info\\["permission"\\]',
],
),
"is_authenticated_only_checks_user_exists": has_any(
helpers,
[
r'def\\s+is_authenticated\\(',
r'api\\s*=\\s*flask\\.current_app\\.config\\["PYLOAD_API"\\]',
r'return\\s+authenticated\\s+and\\s+api\\.user_exists\\(user\\)',
],
),
"parse_permissions_reads_session_cache": has_any(
helpers,
[
r'def\\s+parse_permissions\\(',
r'session\\.get\\("role"\\)\\s*==\\s*Role\\.ADMIN',
r'session\\.get\\("perms"\\)',
],
),
"login_required_uses_parse_permissions_session": has_any(
helpers,
[
r'def\\s+login_required\\(',
r'if\\s+is_authenticated\\(s\\):',
r'perms\\s*=\\s*parse_permissions\\(s\\)',
],
),
"api_session_auth_uses_cached_role_perms": has_any(
helpers,
[
r'if\\s+is_authenticated\\(s\\):',
r'"role"\\s*:\\s*s\\["role"\\]',
r'"permission"\\s*:\\s*s\\["perms"\\]',
],
),
"update_users_changes_db_without_session_invalidation": has_any(
json_blueprint,
[
r'def\\s+update_users\\(',
r'api\\.set_user_permission\\(name,\\s*data\\["permission"\\],\\s*data\\["role"\\]\\)',
r'return\\s+jsonify\\(True\\)',
],
),
"set_user_permission_only_updates_db": has_any(
api_init,
[
r'def\\s+set_user_permission\\(',
r'self\\.pyload\\.db\\.set_permission\\(user,\\s*permission\\)',
r'self\\.pyload\\.db\\.set_role\\(user,\\s*role\\)',
],
),
"default_session_lifetime_long": re.search(
r'session_lifetime\\s*:\\s*"Session lifetime \\(minutes\\)"\\s*=\\s*44640',
default_cfg,
re.MULTILINE,
)
is not None,
}
for name, ok in checks.items():
print(f"{name}={ok}")
stale_privilege_repro_success = all(checks.values())
print(f"stale_privilege_repro_success={stale_privilege_repro_success}")
# Cleanup: this PoC creates/modifies no runtime/data files.
print("cleanup_done=True")
if __name__ == "__main__":
main()
set_session_caches_role_perms=True
is_authenticated_only_checks_user_exists=True
parse_permissions_reads_session_cache=True
login_required_uses_parse_permissions_session=True
api_session_auth_uses_cached_role_perms=True
update_users_changes_db_without_session_invalidation=True
set_user_permission_only_updates_db=True
default_session_lifetime_long=True
stale_privilege_repro_success=True
cleanup_done=True
Impact
- Privilege revocation is not immediate for active sessions.
- A user can continue using stale, previously granted privileges (including admin) after downgrade/restriction.
- This can allow continued access to privileged WebUI/API actions until session expiry or manual logout/session reset.
References
Summary
pyLoad caches
roleandpermissionin the session at login and continues to authorize requests using these cached values, even after an admin changes the user's role/permissions in the database.As a result, an already logged-in user can keep old (revoked) privileges until logout/session expiry, enabling continued privileged actions.
This is a core authorization/session-consistency issue and is not resolved by toggling an optional security feature.
Details
The WebUI auth flow stores authorization state in session:
src/pyload/webui/app/helpers.py:187-200set_session(...)writes:"role": user_info["role"]"perms": user_info["permission"]Authorization checks later trust cached session values:
src/pyload/webui/app/helpers.py:134-151parse_permissions(...)readssession.get("role")/session.get("perms")src/pyload/webui/app/helpers.py:225-230is_authenticated(...)only verifiesauthenticatedandapi.user_exists(user)(existence), not fresh role/permissionsrc/pyload/webui/app/helpers.py:267-275login_required(...)usesparse_permissions(s)for allow/deny decisionssrc/pyload/webui/app/helpers.py:356-365s["role"]ands["perms"]Role/permission updates are written to DB but active sessions are not invalidated/refreshed:
src/pyload/webui/app/blueprints/json_blueprint.py:389-434update_users(...)callsapi.set_user_permission(...)and returnssrc/pyload/core/api/__init__.py:1643-1645set_user_permission(...)updates DB role/permission onlyDefault exposure window is long:
src/pyload/core/config/default.cfg:47session_lifetime = 44640minutes (~31 days)Therefore, privilege revocation is not enforced immediately for active sessions.
Note on duplicates:
PoC
Impact
References