CVE-2024-23657 — @nuxt/devtools
HIGHCVE-2024-23657 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.8) Path Traversal vulnerability in @nuxt/devtools. 1 public exploit or proof-of-concept reference is indexed, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for @nuxt/devtools — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Path Traversal: '../filedir' in Nuxt Devtools
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
- 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-2024-23657.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
Where this sits among everything scored
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.
@nuxt/devtoolsnpmDescription
Summary
Nuxt Devtools is missing authentication on the getTextAssetContent RPC function which is vulnerable to path traversal. Combined with a lack of Origin checks on the WebSocket handler, an attacker is able to interact with a locally running devtools instance and exfiltrate data abusing this vulnerability.
In certain configurations an attacker could leak the devtools authentication token and then abuse other RPC functions to achieve RCE.
Details
The getTextAssetContent function does not check for path traversals (source), this could allow an attacker to read arbitrary files over the RPC WebSocket.
The WebSocket server does not check the origin of the request (source) leading to CSWSH. This may be intentional to allow certain configurations to work correctly.
Nuxt Devtools authentication tokens are placed within the home directory of the current user (source).
In the scenario that:
- The user has a Nuxt3 Project running
- Devtools is enabled and running
- The project is placed within the users home directory.
- The user visits a malicious webpage
- User has authenticated with devtools at least once
The malicious webpage can connect to the Devtools WebSocket, perform a directory traversal brute force to find the authentication token, then use the authenticated writeStaticAssets function to create a new Component, Nitro Handler or app.vue file which will run automatically as the file is changed.
PoC
POC will exploit the Devtools server on localhost:3000 (you may need to manually restart the server as the restart hook does not always work).
POC: https://devtools-exploit.pages.dev
- Create a new project with nuxt.new.
- Place the project inside your home directory.
- Run
pnpm run dev. - Open the POC page.
The POC will:
- Identify devtools version.
- Leak your devtools token.
- Create a new server handler with an insecure eval.
Impact
- All new Nuxt projects by default (devtools is enabled) are vulnerable to arbitrary file read.
- Certain Nuxt configurations are vulnerable to Remote Code Execution
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | @nuxt/devtools | all versions | 1.3.9npm install @nuxt/devtools@1.3.9 |
Affected Products
nuxtnuxtResearch 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 @nuxt/devtools, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update @nuxt/devtools to 1.3.9 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2024-23657 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Resolve every user-supplied path to its canonical form and reject anything that escapes the intended directory, and run the component under an account that has no read or write access outside the directory it legitimately serves.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2024-23657 in your dependencies?
Find it across npm, including transitive dependencies.