CVE-2019-16776 — npm
HIGHCVE-2019-16776 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.1) Path Traversal vulnerability in npm. A fix is available for npm — see the affected versions and patch details below.
npm symlink reference outside of node_modules
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.
npmnpmDescription
Versions of the npm CLI prior to 6.13.3 are vulnerable to a symlink reference outside of node_modules. It is possible for packages to create symlinks to files outside of thenode_modules folder through the bin field upon installation. A properly constructed entry in the package.json bin field would allow a package publisher to create a symlink pointing to arbitrary files on a user’s system when the package is installed. Only files accessible by the user running the npm install are affected.
This behavior is still possible through install scripts. This vulnerability bypasses a user using the --ignore-scripts install option.
Recommendation
Upgrade to version 6.13.3 or later.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | npm | all versions | 6.13.3npm install npm@6.13.3 |
Affected Products
fedorafedoraprojectnpmnpmjsleapopensusegraalvmoracleenterprise linuxredhatenterprise linux eusredhatDetection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for npm, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update npm to 6.13.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2019-16776 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Resolve every user-supplied path to its canonical form and reject anything that escapes the intended directory, and run the component under an account that has no read or write access outside the directory it legitimately serves.
Fixing This On Your OS
If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | nodejs:12-8010020200116150415.c27ad7f8 | RHEA-2020:0330 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | nodejs:10-8010020200213140254.c27ad7f8 | RHSA-2020:0579 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.0 Update Services for SAP Solutions | nodejs:10-8000020200214110450.f8e95b4e | RHSA-2020:0573 |
| Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | rh-nodejs10-nodejs-0:10.19.0-1.el7 | RHSA-2020:0597 |
| Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | rh-nodejs12-nodejs-0:12.16.1-1.el7 | RHSA-2020:0602 |
| Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | rh-nodejs8-nodejs-0:8.17.0-2.el7 | RHSA-2020:2625 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2019-16776 in your dependencies?
Find it across npm, including transitive dependencies.