CVE-2022-31180 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) CWE-74 vulnerability in shescape. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2022-31180 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Insufficient escaping of whitespace in shescape
Real-World Exposure
How broadly this vulnerability is actually deployed: weekly install volume shows current usage, a proxy for how much of the ecosystem is exposed.
shescapenpmDescription
Shescape is a simple shell escape package for JavaScript. Affected versions were found to have insufficient escaping of white space when interpolating output. This issue only impacts users that use the escape or escapeAll functions with the interpolation option set to true. The result is that if an attacker is able to include whitespace in their input they can: 1. Invoke shell-specific behaviour through shell-specific special characters inserted directly after whitespace. 2. Invoke shell-specific behaviour through shell-specific special characters inserted or appearing after line terminating characters. 3. Invoke arbitrary commands by inserting a line feed character. 4. Invoke arbitrary commands by inserting a carriage return character. Behaviour number 1 has been patched in [v1.5.7] which you can upgrade to now. No further changes are required. Behaviour number 2, 3, and 4 have been patched in [v1.5.8] which you can upgrade to now. No further changes are required. The best workaround is to avoid having to use the interpolation: true option - in most cases using an alternative is possible, see the recipes for recommendations. Alternatively, users may strip all whitespace from user input. Note that this is error prone, for example: for PowerShell this requires stripping '\u0085' which is not included in JavaScript's definition of \s for Regular Expressions.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | shescape | ≥ 1.4.0&&< 1.5.8 | 1.5.8 |
Research 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 shescape. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update shescape to 1.5.8 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-31180 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 pinpoints whether CVE-2022-31180 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2022-31180. 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-2022-31180 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2022-31180 across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.