CVE-2022-36077
HIGHCVE-2022-36077 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.2) Information Exposure vulnerability in electron. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2022-36077 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Electron subject to Exfiltration of hashed SMB credentials on Windows via file:// redirect
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.
electronnpmDescription
The Electron framework enables writing cross-platform desktop applications using JavaScript, HTML and CSS. In versions prior to 21.0.0-beta.1, 20.0.1, 19.0.11, and 18.3.7, Electron is vulnerable to Exposure of Sensitive Information. When following a redirect, Electron delays a check for redirecting to file:// URLs from other schemes. The contents of the file is not available to the renderer following the redirect, but if the redirect target is a SMB URL such as file://some.website.com/, then in some cases, Windows will connect to that server and attempt NTLM authentication, which can include sending hashed credentials.This issue has been patched in versions: 21.0.0-beta.1, 20.0.1, 19.0.11, and 18.3.7. Users are recommended to upgrade to the latest stable version of Electron. If upgrading isn't possible, this issue can be addressed without upgrading by preventing redirects to file:// URLs in the WebContents.on('will-redirect') event, for all WebContents as a workaround.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | electron | all versions | 18.3.7 |
| 📦npm | electron | ≥ 20.0.0-beta.1&&< 20.0.1 | 20.0.1 |
| 📦npm | electron | ≥ 19.0.0-beta.1&&< 19.0.11 | 19.0.11 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for electron. 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 electron to 18.3.7 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-36077 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-2022-36077 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-2022-36077. 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-2022-36077 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2022-36077 across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.