CVE-2020-15168 — node-fetch
MEDIUMCVE-2020-15168 is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.3) Improper Input Validation vulnerability in node-fetch. A fix is available for node-fetch — see the affected versions and patch details below.
The `size` option isn't honored after following a redirect in node-fetch
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2020-15168 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 377,166 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
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.
node-fetchnpmDescription
node-fetch before versions 2.6.1 and 3.0.0-beta.9 did not honor the size option after following a redirect, which means that when a content size was over the limit, a FetchError would never get thrown and the process would end without failure. For most people, this fix will have a little or no impact. However, if you are relying on node-fetch to gate files above a size, the impact could be significant, for example: If you don't double-check the size of the data after fetch() has completed, your JS thread could get tied up doing work on a large file (DoS) and/or cost you money in computing.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | node-fetch | ≥ 2.0.0&&< 2.6.1 | 2.6.1npm install node-fetch@2.6.1 |
| 📦npm | node-fetch | ≥ 3.0.0-beta.1&&< 3.0.0-beta.9 | 3.0.0-beta.9npm install node-fetch@3.0.0-beta.9 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for node-fetch, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update node-fetch to 2.6.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2020-15168 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-2020-15168 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2020-15168. 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-2020-15168 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2020-15168 across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.