CVE-2022-0144 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.1) Improper Privilege Management vulnerability in shelljs. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for shelljs — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Improper Privilege Management in shelljs/shelljs
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2022-0144 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.
shelljsnpmDescription
shelljs is vulnerable to Improper Privilege Management
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | shelljs | all versions | 0.8.5npm install shelljs@0.8.5 |
Affected Products
shelljsshelljs_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 shelljs, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update shelljs to 0.8.5 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-0144 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Close the privilege gap rather than the entry point: audit which accounts, roles and service identities can reach the affected operation, drop the component to the least privilege it actually needs, and review file and directory permissions created by earlier installs — a default left in place is what makes this reachable.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2022-0144 in your dependencies?
Find it across npm, including transitive dependencies.