CVE-2016-10541
CRITICALCVE-2016-10541 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) OS Command Injection vulnerability in shell-quote. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2016-10541 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Potential Command Injection in shell-quote
Blast Radius
shell-quoteReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects npm packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
The npm module "shell-quote" 1.6.0 and earlier cannot correctly escape ">" and "<" operator used for redirection in shell. Applications that depend on shell-quote may also be vulnerable. A malicious user could perform code injection.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | shell-quote | all versions | 1.6.1 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for shell-quote. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update shell-quote to 1.6.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2016-10541 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2016-10541 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2016-10541. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2016-10541 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2016-10541 across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.