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📦 npm
Not in CISA KEV

CVE-2026-55849 is a OS Command Injection vulnerability in @cyclonedx/cyclonedx-npm. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2026-55849 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.

@cyclonedx/cyclonedx-npm: Shell Injection via Unsanitized `--workspace` Argument

Also known asGHSA-v75r-vx73-82pj
Published
Jul 8, 2026
Updated
Aug 12, 2026
Affected
1 pkg
Patched
1 / 1
Exploits
None indexed
Exploitation data as of Aug 20, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

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-2026-55849.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗
0.2%probability of exploitation in next 30 days
Lower Risk0.00%
Lower risk than most CVEs6th percentile — riskier than 6% of all scored CVEsHighest risk
0.00%0.22%0.44%0.66%0.2%0.2%Aug 26Aug 26

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.

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected

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.

5other npm packages depend on this — each one inherits the vulnerability until it's patched upstream
@cyclonedx/cyclonedx-npmnpm
382Kdownloads / week

Description

@cyclonedx/cyclonedx-npm creates CycloneDX Software Bill of Materials from npm projects. From 2.1.0 before 5.0.0, the CLI passes user-supplied --workspace values to a subshell without proper sanitization when npm_execpath is unset or empty, allowing arbitrary OS command execution with the privileges of the invoking user. This issue is fixed in version 5.0.0.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed
EcosystemPackageVulnerable rangeFix
📦npm@cyclonedx/cyclonedx-npm2.1.0&&< 5.0.05.0.0

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency
  1. Detect

    Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for @cyclonedx/cyclonedx-npm. 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.

  2. Fix

    Update @cyclonedx/cyclonedx-npm to 5.0.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-55849 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

  3. 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.

  4. How O3 protects you

    O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2026-55849 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-2026-55849. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Frequently Asked Questions

@cyclonedx/cyclonedx-npm creates CycloneDX Software Bill of Materials from npm projects. From 2.1.0 before 5.0.0, the CLI passes user-supplied --workspace values to a subshell without proper sanitization when npm_execpath is unset or empty, allowing arbitrary OS command execution with the privileges of the invoking user. This issue is fixed in version 5.0.0.
O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2026-55849 in your dependencies?

O3 detects CVE-2026-55849 across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

CVE-2026-55849: @cyclonedx/cyclonedx-npm… | O3 Security