GHSA-qcxp-gm7m-4j5v Quarkus: Authentication/Authorization Bypass via Advanced Path Normalization Vulnerabilities
Quarkus HTTP path-based authorization policies can be bypassed using encoded semicolons (%3B) to smuggle matrix
  parameters past the security layer, and using encoded slashes (%2F) or backslashes (%5C) to access protected static
  resources. This is a distinct issue from CVE-2026-39852, which addressed only literal semicolon stripping.Technical DetailsThe security layer (AbstractPathMatchingHttpSecurityPolicy) normalizes request paths using Vert.x's normalizedPath(),
  which only decodes unreserved RFC 3986 characters (letters, digits, -, ., _, ~). It then strips matrix parameters by
  looking for literal ; characters. This creates two mismatches:Encoded semicolons (`%3B`): Since `%3B` is not decoded by normalizedPath(), the matrix parameter stripping in
pathWithoutMatrixParams() never sees it. The encoded semicolon and everything after it become part of the path
segment, causing policy matching to fail. This affects all path-policy-protected endpoints.Static resource path mismatch: Static resource handlers (StaticHandlerImpl, FileSystemStaticHandler) perform full
percent-decoding via URIDecoder.decodeURIComponent() and backslash-to-slash conversion before filesystem resolution.
Reserved characters like `%2F` (slash) and `%5C` (backslash) that survive the security layer's partial decoding are fully
decoded before file serving.REST endpoints using Quarkus REST (RESTEasy Reactive) are not affected by the `%2F/%5C` vectors because the routing layer also uses `normalizedPath()` — both security and routing agree on the path, so no mismatch exists.Attack VectorsEncoded semicolon (matrix parameter smuggling), affects all path-policy-protected endpoints:`/api/admin%3Bbypass=true/data`: security sees this as a single segment `admin%3Bbypass=true`, which does not match the
`/api/admin/* policy`. The request passes through unauthenticated.`/api/secret%3b/data`: same mechanism with lowercase hex digit.Encoded slash/backslash on static resources, affects static files behind path policies:`/static-secret%2Fhtml`, security does not match /static-secret.html policy; static handler decodes `%2F` to `/` and may
resolve the file.`/static-secret%5Chtml `. static handler decodes `%5C` to `\`, then converts to `/`.Double encoding, affects static resources:`/secret%252Fconfidential.html`, first decode by normalizedPath() turns `%25` into `%`, producing `%2F`. Static handler's
second decode turns `%2F` into `/`.The following vectors were investigated and confirmed not exploitable:Unreserved character encoding (`/api/adm%69n/data`): `normalizedPath()` decodes these. Both security and routing see
`/api/admin/data`.Null byte injection (`/api/admin%00/data`): `%00` is not decoded by `normalizedPath()`.Encoded dot segments (`/api/%2e%2e/secret/data`): Period is unreserved, so `%2e` is decoded to `.` by `normalizedPath()`,
then `removeDots()` normalizes `..` segments.REST endpoint bypass via `%2F/%5C`: Routing uses the same `normalizedPath()` as security. The encoded slash/backslash
doesn't match any route.Root Cause`pathWithoutMatrixParams()` operates on the partially-decoded output of `normalizedPath()`, where reserved characters
  remain encoded. It searches for literal ; but never sees `%3B.` The fix (`normalizePath()`) performs full percent-decoding
   in a loop before stripping matrix parameters, removing null bytes, normalizing backslashes, and resolving dot
  segments, aligning the security layer's view of the path with what downstream handlers resolve.ImpactUnauthenticated access to endpoints protected by `quarkus.http.auth.permission` path-based policies via `%3B` smugglingStatic resource exposure by bypassing path policies on protected files via `%2F/%5C`Applications using annotation-based security (`@RolesAllowed`, `@Authenticated`) on JAX-RS resources without path-based
policies are not affected by the `%2F/%5C` vectors, but may still be affected by `%3B` if path policies coexistProof of Concept
CVSS v3.1 score: 7.5