CVE-2014-0053
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedThe default configuration of the Resources plugin 1.0.0 before 1.2.6 for Pivotal Grails 2.0.0 before 2.3.6 does not properly restrict access to files in the WEB-INF directory, which allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive information via a direct request. NOTE: this identifier has been SPLIT due to different researchers and different vulnerability types. See CVE-2014-2857 for the META-INF variant and CVE-2014-2858 for the directory traversal.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceThe Grails Resources plugin versions 1.0.0 through 1.2.5 (and Grails 2.0.0 through 2.3.5) default configuration fails to restrict access to files in the WEB-INF directory. This allows unauthenticated remote attackers to directly request and retrieve sensitive files such as web.xml, application configuration, and potentially class files from the WEB-INF directory.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= 1.0.0= 1.0.2= 1.1.0= 1.1.1= 1.1.2= 1.1.4= 1.1.5= 1.1.6= 1.2.0= 1.2.1= 1.2.2= 1.2.3= 2.0.0= 2.0.1= 2.0.2= 2.0.3= 2.0.4= 2.1.0= 2.1.1= 2.1.2= 2.1.3= 2.1.4= 2.1.5= 2.2.0CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed Grails versionRun 'grails --version' or check the grails-core/gradle.properties file for the grails.version propertyAffected if Version is 2.0.0 through 2.3.5 (inclusive)
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Identify Resources plugin versionCheck the application.properties file or build.config for 'resources.plugin.version' or inspect the target/work/plugins/resources-plugin-*.jar if availableAffected if Version is 1.0.0 through 1.2.5 (inclusive)
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Verify WEB-INF directory accessibilityAttempt an HTTP GET request to http://yourserver/WEB-INF/web.xml (or other sensitive file in WEB-INF) - this file should NOT be directly accessible via the web serverAffected if The request returns the actual file contents instead of a 403/404 error
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Check application configurationInspect grails-app/conf/Config.groovy or the application's URL mapping configuration for any filter or rewrite rules that restrict WEB-INF accessAffected if No filter or rewrite rule exists to block direct access to WEB-INF or META-INF directories
You are affected if your Grails version is 2.0.0-2.3.5 or your Resources plugin is 1.0.0-1.2.5 AND the WEB-INF directory is directly accessible via HTTP requests.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataUpgrade the Grails Resources plugin to version 1.2.6 or later, or upgrade Pivotal Grails to version 2.3.6 or later. Alternatively, configure the web server or application to deny direct access to WEB-INF and META-INF directories.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2014-0053 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2014-0053 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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