CVE-2026-42290
HIGHCVE-2026-42290 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.8) vulnerability in protobufjs-cli. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2026-42290 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
protobufjs-cli: OS Command Injection
Real-World Exposure
protobufjs-cli📦protobufjs-cliReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects npm packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
protobufjs-cli is the command line add-on for protobuf.js. Prior to 1.2.1 and 2.0.2, pbts invoked JSDoc by building a shell command string from input file paths and executing it through child_process.exec. File paths containing shell metacharacters could therefore be interpreted by the shell instead of being passed to JSDoc as plain arguments. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.2.1 and 2.0.2.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | protobufjs-cli | all versions | 1.2.1 |
| 📦npm | protobufjs-cli | ≥ 2.0.0&&< 2.0.2 | 2.0.2 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for protobufjs-cli. 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 protobufjs-cli to 1.2.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-42290 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-2026-42290 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-2026-42290. 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-2026-42290 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2026-42290 across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.