Detect Gogs Path Traversal Vulnerability (CVE-2025-8110) in Splunk
Detects exploitation attempts targeting CVE-2025-8110, a path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22) in Gogs self-hosted Git service. Attackers can craft malicious HTTP requests containing directory traversal sequences to read arbitrary files outside the intended web root, potentially exposing sensitive configuration files, SSH keys, or repository data. This vulnerability is listed in the CISA KEV catalog indicating active exploitation in the wild.
MITRE ATT&CK
SPL Detection Query
index=web OR index=proxy OR index=waf sourcetype IN ("access_combined", "nginx:plus:kv", "iis", "apache:access", "pan:traffic")
| eval decoded_uri=urldecode(uri)
| where match(uri, "(\.\./|%2e%2e%2f|%2e%2e/|\.%2e/|%252e%252e|%2e%2e%5c)")
OR match(decoded_uri, "\.\.[\/\\]")
| where match(decoded_uri, "(app\.ini|/etc/passwd|/etc/shadow|id_rsa|\.ssh/|conf/app\.ini|custom/conf)")
| eval traversal_depth=mvcount(split(replace(decoded_uri, "%2f", "/"), "../"))
| stats count AS request_count, values(uri) AS traversal_uris, dc(uri) AS unique_paths, earliest(_time) AS first_seen, latest(_time) AS last_seen BY src_ip, host, http_method
| where request_count >= 1
| eval alert_name="Gogs Path Traversal CVE-2025-8110", severity="critical"Detects path traversal exploitation attempts against Gogs by identifying URL-encoded and raw directory traversal sequences in web access logs, with URL decoding to catch double-encoded payloads targeting sensitive Gogs configuration files.
Data Sources
Required Sourcetypes
False Positives & Tuning
- Authorized penetration testing or vulnerability scanning activities
- URL encoding edge cases in legitimate repository or file names containing special characters
- Security tooling that probes for path traversal as part of defensive monitoring
- Misconfigured clients that improperly encode file paths in API calls
Other platforms for CVE-2025-8110
Testing Methodology
Validate this detection against 3 adversary techniques from Atomic Red Team. Each test below lists the behaviour to exercise and the telemetry you should expect to see. Executable commands and cleanup steps are available with Pro.
- Test 1Basic Gogs Path Traversal - Read app.ini
Expected signal: HTTP GET requests to Gogs port (3000) with ../ and %2e%2e sequences in URI visible in access logs; 200 response with app.ini content if vulnerable, 400/403/404 if patched or WAF blocks
- Test 2Gogs Path Traversal - SSH Key Extraction
Expected signal: HTTP requests with mixed encoding traversal patterns (%2f for /) targeting .ssh and id_rsa paths; response codes and body sizes indicate exploitation success or failure
- Test 3Automated Gogs Traversal Scan with Multiple Encoding Variants
Expected signal: Burst of HTTP requests from single source IP within seconds, each containing different encoding variants of traversal sequences; some requests may return 200 with file content if instance is vulnerable
Unlock Pro Content
Get the full detection package for CVE-2025-8110 including response playbook, investigation guide, and atomic red team tests.