Versions of the npm CLI prior to 6.13.4 are vulnerable to an Arbitrary File Overwrite. It 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 previous serve binary. This behavior is still allowed in local installations and also through install scripts. This vulnerability bypasses a user using the --ignore-scripts install option.
This vulnerability carries a HIGH severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.7, indicating it can be exploited remotely over the network but requires specific conditions to be met though user interaction is required requiring only low-level privileges . The vulnerability impacts confidentiality (data exposure), integrity (unauthorized modifications), for affected systems. Impacting 6 products from npmjs, from opensuse, from oracle and 3 others, organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.
First disclosed in 2019, this vulnerability was reported during a period defined by widespread IoT adoption challenges, mobile security concerns, and the emergence of advanced persistent threat (APT) techniques. Contemporary mitigation strategies focused on secure development practices and third-party component vetting.
2019-12-13T01:15:11.007
2024-11-21T04:31:10.213
Modified
CVSSv3.1: 7.7 (HIGH)
AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:N/I:P/A:P
8.0
4.9
| Type | Vendor | Product | Version/Range | Vulnerable? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Application | npmjs | npm | < 6.13.4 | Yes |
| Operating System | opensuse | leap | 15.1 | Yes |
| Application | oracle | graalvm | 19.3.0.2 | Yes |
| Operating System | fedoraproject | fedora | 31 | Yes |
| Operating System | redhat | enterprise_linux | 8.0 | Yes |
| Operating System | redhat | enterprise_linux_eus | 8.1 | Yes |
SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For npmjs's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.