CVE-2018-21268 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) CWE-74 vulnerability in traceroute. 3 public exploit or proof-of-concept references are indexed, so weaponization risk is real. The records list no fixed version yet; check the vendor advisory below and apply the mitigations in the meantime.
Node-Traceroute RCE Vulnerability
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
Where this sits among everything scored
Real-World Exposure
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.
traceroutenpmDescription
The traceroute (aka node-traceroute) package through 1.0.0 for Node.js allows remote command injection via the host parameter. This occurs because the Child.exec() method, which is considered to be not entirely safe, is used. In particular, an OS command can be placed after a newline character.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | traceroute | all versions | No fix |
Affected Products
traceroutetraceroute_projectResearch 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 traceroute, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Remediation status
The records we use list no patched version of traceroute for CVE-2018-21268. Check the maintainer's advisory, and where your build allows, override or pin the dependency away from the vulnerable range.
Mitigate without a patch
Stop passing untrusted input into the interpreter or shell: call the affected binary with an argument array rather than a composed command string, reject anything outside a strict allowlist of expected values, and run the component under an account that cannot reach beyond the work it legitimately does.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2018-21268 in your dependencies?
Find it across npm, including transitive dependencies.