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Atomicorp WAF Research Note: CVE-2026-79773

Winter CMS before 1.2.13 Local File Inclusion via JavaScript

CVE Details

Status: Attack Blocked by Atomicorp
  • Already protected by existing Atomicorp WAF rules
  • Protection status: Understanding Atomicorp WAF Protection Status
  • CVE: CVE-2026-79773
  • Name: Winter CMS before 1.2.13 Local File Inclusion via JavaScript
  • Severity: Medium
  • CVSS: 6.9 (v4.0) (Medium)
  • CVSS version: 4.0
  • CVSS source: VulnCheck CNA
  • CVSS vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
    • Attack vector: Network
    • Attack complexity: Low
    • Attack requirements: None
    • Privileges required: High
    • User interaction: None
    • Vulnerable-system confidentiality: High
    • Vulnerable-system integrity: None
    • Vulnerable-system availability: None
    • Subsequent-system confidentiality: None
    • Subsequent-system integrity: None
    • Subsequent-system availability: None
    • Scope: X
  • CWE: CWE-22 — Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory (‘Path Traversal’)
  • Related CAPEC attack patterns (via MITRE CWE relationships): CAPEC-126 , CAPEC-64 , CAPEC-76 , CAPEC-78 , CAPEC-79
  • Vendor: wintercms
  • Vulnerable product: winter
  • CVE published: 2026-08-25
  • CVE last modified: 2026-08-28
  • EPSS: 0.0039; 31.9th percentile (FIRST )
  • Latest Update: 2026-09-06
  • Selected Rule IDs observed: 340007 , 344360 , 347009 , 390709
  • Matching rules: 4; rules with blocking actions: 4
  • Would-block Rule IDs: 340007 , 344360 , 347009 , 390709
  • Request surfaces inspected: JSON request data, Request URI, Request argument names, Request arguments, Request cookies, Request filename, SOAP request data, XML request data

Vulnerability Description

Winter CMS before 1.2.13 contains a local file inclusion vulnerability in the JavascriptImporter filter that allows authenticated users with cms.manage_assets permission to disclose arbitrary server-readable files by placing =include or =require directives in theme JavaScript assets. Attackers can reference files like .env outside the theme directory, and the combined output served through the combine route becomes readable by unauthenticated visitors, exposing application keys and database credentials.

  1. Maintain the observed Atomicorp protections. Keep your Atomicorp commercial rules current and confirm that the selected observed rules (340007 , 344360 , 347009 , 390709 ) have not been locally disabled. Atomicorp commercial rules are enabled by default. If you use Atomic WAF, review the applicable policy and rule settings.

  2. Apply the vendor’s remediation. WAF protection is defense in depth and does not replace upgrading or following the affected vendor’s guidance.

    • Affected versions: wintercms winter versions earlier than 1.2.13.
    • Versions reported unaffected: wintercms winter version 1.2.13.
    • Recommended upgrade: Upgrade wintercms winter to 1.2.13 or later.

  3. Validate after changes. Confirm rule updates are current, review WAF events for the affected application, and test application behavior after vendor upgrades, mitigations, or local policy changes.

Research Notes

Atomicorp WAF protections are designed around attack techniques and exploit behaviors, allowing existing protections to apply across multiple vulnerabilities without requiring a unique rule for every CVE.

Public Vulnerability References

Test or Research Source

  • Source: Atomicorp AI Research Framework
  • Tags: cve, derived, traversal, waf-probe

Research Note Context

This research note documents exploit-technique analysis associated with this vulnerability and references Atomicorp WAF protections observed during engineering review, testing, or validation activities.

Atomicorp security controls are generally designed to identify and mitigate attack techniques and exploit behaviors rather than individual CVE identifiers. As a result, protections developed for one vulnerability may also apply to related attack variants and future vulnerabilities using similar techniques.

Learn More

Atomicorp develops commercially supported security technologies for web applications, servers, endpoints, workloads, and legacy enterprise platforms.

Organizations interested in protecting systems against exploit techniques associated with vulnerabilities such as this one can learn more about:

  • Atomic ModSecurity Rules: commercially maintained WAF rules for ModSecurity deployments, including protections for web attacks, bots, scanners, malware, exploitation attempts, and emerging vulnerability classes.
  • Atomic WAF: an enterprise web application firewall with Atomicorp rules, centralized management, reporting, authentication controls, and operational tooling.
  • Atomic ModSecurity Integrator: a special licensing option for MSPs, MSSPs, OEMs, VARs, reverse proxy providers, and other integrators who want to incorporate Atomicorp ModSecurity rule technology into their own products or services.
  • Atomic OSSEC: an enterprise OSSEC-based intrusion detection, compliance, and security monitoring platform.
  • Atomic Protector: workload protection for Linux, web, cloud, data center, and hybrid environments.

For additional information, product evaluations, or technical discussions, visit https://www.atomicorp.com/ or https://modsecurity.io/ .