Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessAuthenticate as P4 Server administrator
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ExploitSubmit crafted logging configuration (path traversal)
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ExecutionWrite/delete file outside logging directory
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ImpactExecute code as P4 Search service account
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V5 - File Handling Relative path traversal prevention
|
| Exploitation Conditions | Requires an authenticated user holding administrative privileges on the connected P4 Server (PR:H) who can supply a crafted P4 Search logging configuration; the AT:P attack requirement reflects that the attacker must control the logging-configuration content and target a traversal path the service account can write to. Limiting factors: only P4 Search versions 2026.4.2 and earlier are affected (fixed in 2026.4.3), exploitation is impossible without P4 Server administrative access, and the outcome is bounded by the privileges of the P4 Search service account. No end-user interaction is required (UI:N). |
| Impact | This is a genuine but conditional integrity/availability risk rather than a mass-exploitation priority. The CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:H) shows network reachability but gates exploitation behind PR:H - the attacker must already hold administrative privileges on the connected P4 Server - and AT:P indicates an additional attack requirement (control over the logging configuration). No EPSS score, CISA KEV listing, or public POC is present in the supplied data, so there is no public exploit identified at time of analysis. The high CVSS (7.3) is driven by the code-execution outcome (VI:H/VA:H) as the P4 Search service account, not by ease of access. Signals are consistent - no conflict between CVSS and the description, both agreeing that a privileged, authenticated actor is required. Note the CPE and the 'P4 Helix Core' tag reference Helix Core, whereas the description unambiguously scopes the flaw to P4 Search (formerly Helix Search); this product-labeling discrepancy should be corrected (see data_quality_flags). Overall: a post-authentication privilege-abuse/path-traversal issue meaningful to Perforce shops but low urgency for broad fleets, appropriate for routine patching to 2026.4.3. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An administrator (or an attacker who has compromised an admin account) on the connected P4 Server submits a crafted P4 Search logging configuration whose path escapes the intended logging directory. Because the service writes or deletes files along that attacker-controlled path, the adversary overwrites a file executed by the P4 Search service, achieving code execution as the P4 Search service account. No public exploit code is identified at time of analysis, and the attack requires both administrative privileges and the ability to influence the logging configuration. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 15, 2026
Authenticated administrators on a connected P4 Server can exploit a relative path traversal (CWE-23) in P4 Search 2026.4.2 and earlier by supplying a crafted logging configuration, causing files to be written or deleted outside the intended logging directory and potentially achieving code execution as the P4 Search service account. Perforce resolved the issue in P4 Search 2026.4.3; no public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis (no CISA KEV listing), and because a P4 Server administrative account is a hard prerequisite, this is a genuine but conditional integrity/availability risk rather than a mass-exploitation priority.
RemediationAI
Apply the vendor-released patch by upgrading P4 Search to 2026.4.3 or later; Perforce documents the fix in the advisory at https://portal.perforce.com/s/cve/a91Qi000003GdOfIAK/path-traversal-via-logging-configuration-in-p4search. Where immediate upgrading is not possible, the most effective compensating control is to reduce the population of P4 Server administrative accounts that P4 Search trusts and audit logging-configuration changes, since exploitation is impossible without such an account (PR:H); trade-off is operational overhead for P4 administrators who legitimately manage search logging. Additionally, run the P4 Search service under a dedicated low-privilege account with no write access to install, binary, or configuration directories, so that any successful traversal is confined to non-executable paths - trade-off is that overly tight permissions can break log rotation or normal index/log operations and must be tested. Monitor P4 Search logs and the host filesystem for unexpected file creation or deletion outside the configured logging directory as a detection measure, and note that no public exploit code has been identified, so these steps are precautionary rather than a response to known exploitation. No workaround fully substitutes for the 2026.4.3 upgrade.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
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Technical ContextAI · show details
The root cause is CWE-23 (Relative Path Traversal): P4 Search accepts attacker-controllable path values in its logging configuration without neutralizing traversal sequences, so crafted values can redirect log file writes and deletions outside the intended logging directory. Because P4 Search runs as a service account, the impact is bounded by that account's filesystem permissions, but if the account can write to configuration, script, or application directories, the technique escalates to code execution as the P4 Search service account - which is why the intelligence tags include RCE and the broader P4 Helix Core family. The CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:H/UI:N/VC:L/VI:H/VA:H/SC:L/SI:H/SA:H) records PR:H, meaning an attacker must already hold administrative privileges on the connected P4 Server, and AT:P, reflecting that exploitation also requires control over the logging-configuration content and a traversal target the service account can actually write to; our independent assessment agrees, scoring CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:H and treating the attack as high-complexity due to those combined prerequisites. Note that the supplied CPE string cpe:2.3:a:perforce:p4_(helix_core):* is a broad vendor-family identifier for Perforce P4 (Helix Core) rather than a version-accurate identifier for P4 Search itself, so it should be treated as approximate when building detection coverage.
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Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:H/UI:N/VC:L/VI:H/VA:H/SC:L/SI:H/SA:H
Admin on P4 Server gives PR:H and the required control over logging configuration maps AT:P to AC:H; arbitrary file write/delete yielding code execution gives I:H/A:H with only limited C:L.
Primary rating from Vendor (Perforce).
CVSS VectorVendor: Perforce
DescriptionCVE.org
P4 Search (formerly Helix Search) allows an authenticated user holding administrative privileges on the connected P4 Server to supply a crafted logging configuration that causes files to be written or deleted outside the intended logging directory. This could lead to code execution as the P4 Search service account. This issue affects P4 Search 2026.4.2 and earlier.
Perforce resolved it in 2026.4.3.
Executive ViewAI
Perforce P4 Search 2026.4.2 and earlier contain a relative path traversal flaw that allows a P4 Server administrator to cause unauthorized file writes or deletions outside the designated logging area, with possible code execution under the P4 Search service account. Although no public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis, the vulnerability poses a conditional integrity and availability risk for organizations running affected Perforce environments. Leadership should prioritize upgrading to P4 Search 2026.4.3 and tightening administrative controls because a malicious or compromised administrator could disrupt critical services.
Apply vendor patch.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Remote Code Execution represents the critical moment when an attacker successfully runs arbitrary code on a target system without physical access.
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Remote code execution in Perforce Akana API Platform allows unauthenticated attackers to run arbitrary code on the Polic
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An arbitrary code execution which results in privilege escalation was discovered in Helix Core versions prior to 2023.2.
Unauthenticated remote code execution is possible in Perforce P4 Search container images prior to 2026.4.2 due to an exp
Perforce P4 Search before 2026.4.2 fails open when its service authentication token is blank, so an unauthenticated remo
Unauthorized SCIM API access in Perforce Helix Authentication Service (HAS) versions 2022.1 through 2025.2 arises from a
XML external entity (XXE) injection in Perforce's Akana API Platform allows remote unauthenticated attackers to abuse im
The XML Import functionality of the Administration console in Perforce Helix ALM 2020.3.1 Build 22 accepts XML input dat
Helix Core Server (P4D) before 2026.1 ships with insecure default configurations allowing remote unauthenticated attacke
Cleartext credential disclosure in P4 Search (formerly Helix Search) 2026.4.2 and earlier allows an authenticated admini
Brute-force protection bypass in Perforce Delphix Continuous Data lets remote attackers defeat the account lockout mecha
EUVD-2026-102074
GHSA-m6jx-f652-pc27
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB