CVE-2023-38695 is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.5) Path Traversal vulnerability in @simonsmith/cypress-image-snapshot. 2 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for @simonsmith/cypress-image-snapshot — see the affected versions and patch details below.
cypress-image-snapshot vulnerable to insecure snapshot file names
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2023-38695.
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-2023-38695 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 378,567 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.
@simonsmith/cypress-image-snapshotnpmDescription
Impact
It's possible for a user to pass a relative file path for the snapshot name and reach outside of the project directory into the machine running the test. Example:
cy.get('h1').matchImageSnapshot('../../../ignore-relative-dirs')
The above will create an ignore-relative-dirs.png three levels up
Patches
Fixed in 8.0.2
Workarounds
Validate all the existing uses of matchImageSnapshot to ensure correct use of the filename argument. Example:
// snapshot name will be the test title
cy.matchImageSnapshot();
// snapshot name will be the name passed in
cy.matchImageSnapshot('login');
References
https://github.com/simonsmith/cypress-image-snapshot/issues/15
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | @simonsmith/cypress-image-snapshot | all versions | 8.0.2npm install @simonsmith/cypress-image-snapshot@8.0.2 |
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 @simonsmith/cypress-image-snapshot, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update @simonsmith/cypress-image-snapshot to 8.0.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-38695 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-2023-38695 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2023-38695. 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-2023-38695 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2023-38695 across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.