CVE-2019-10788 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) OS Command Injection vulnerability in im-metadata. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. No vendor fix is recorded yet; mitigation options are listed below.
OS Command Injection in im-metadata
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2019-10788 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 385,738 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.
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.
im-metadatanpmDescription
im-metadata through 3.0.1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via the "exec" argument. It is possible to inject arbitrary commands as part of the metadata options which is given to the "exec" function.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | im-metadata | all versions | No fix |
Affected Products
im-metadatadntResearch 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 im-metadata, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Remediation status
No patched version of im-metadata has shipped for CVE-2019-10788 yet. Where your build allows, override or pin the dependency away from the vulnerable range, and apply any maintainer-recommended mitigation.
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-2019-10788 in your dependencies?
Find it across npm, including transitive dependencies.