#VU23880 Path traversal in NPM - CVE-2019-16777

Vulnerability identifier: #VU23880

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 0.5 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:A/VC:L/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2019-16777

CWE-ID: CWE-22

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
NPM
Web applications / CMS

Vendor: isaacs

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to perform directory traversal attacks.

The vulnerability exists due to input validation error when processing directory traversal sequences. The software fails to prevent existing globally-installed binaries to be overwritten by other package installations. For example, if a package was installed globally and created a serve binary, any subsequent installs of packages that also create a serve binary would overwrite the first binary. This only affects files in /usr/local/bin

A remote attacker can overwrite arbitrary files on the system.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

NPM: 1.1.25 - 6.13.3

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External links
https://www.npmjs.com/advisories/1437

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Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote non-authenticated attacker via the Internet.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.