How severe is CVE-2017-16034?

No CVSS score has been assigned to CVE-2017-16034 yet. Review the advisory details and affected package list to assess your exposure.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2017-16034?

CVE-2017-16034 affects the following packages: pidusage (npm). Ecosystems affected: npm.

How do I fix CVE-2017-16034?

Update pidusage to 1.1.5 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2017-16034 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2017-16034 in my npm dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for pidusage, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate CVE-2017-16034 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

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 does O3 Security protect against CVE-2017-16034?

O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2017-16034 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.

Is CVE-2017-16034 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2017-16034 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

When was CVE-2017-16034 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2017-16034 was published on September 1, 2020 and was last updated on November 8, 2023. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

📦 npm

Not in CISA KEV

CVE-2017-16034 — pidusage

CVE-2017-16034 is a remote code execution vulnerability in pidusage. A fix is available for pidusage — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Command Injection in pidusage

Published

Sep 1, 2020

Updated

Nov 8, 2023

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Nov 8, 2023 · OSV.dev, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected

How broadly this vulnerability is actually deployed: weekly install volume shows current usage, and reverse-dependency count shows how many other packages break if it stays unpatched.

502other npm packages depend on this — each one inherits the vulnerability until it's patched upstream

pidusagenpm

2.9Mdownloads / week

Description

Affected versions of pidusage pass unsanitized input to child_process.exec(), resulting in arbitrary code execution in the ps method.

This package is vulnerable to this PoC on Darwin, SunOS, FreeBSD, and AIX.

Windows and Linux are not vulnerable.

Proof of Concept

var pid = require('pidusage');
pid.stat('1 && /usr/local/bin/python');

Recommendation

Update to version 1.1.5 or later.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
📦npm	`pidusage`	all versions	1.1.5`npm install pidusage@1.1.5`

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for pidusage, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update pidusage to 1.1.5 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2017-16034 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 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2017-16034 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.

Tailored to CVE-2017-16034. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Affected versions of `pidusage` pass unsanitized input to `child_process.exec()`, resulting in arbitrary code execution in the `ps` method. This package is vulnerable to this PoC on Darwin, SunOS, FreeBSD, and AIX. Windows and Linux are not vulnerable. ## Proof of Concept ``` var pid = require('pidusage'); pid.stat('1 && /usr/local/bin/python'); ``` ## Recommendation Update to version 1.1.5 or later.

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2017-16034 in your dependencies?

O3 Security finds CVE-2017-16034 across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works