{"id":"CVE-2026-59194","aliases":["GHSA-72r4-9c5j-mj57"],"url":"https://o3.security/vulnerability/CVE-2026-59194","summary":"pnpm: patch-remove could delete project-selected files outside the patches directory","details":"## Summary\n\nThe `patch-remove` deletion-scope issue tracked as GHSA-72r4-9c5j-mj57 / CAND-PNPM-030 has been addressed in pnpm.\n\nA crafted patch entry could resolve outside the configured patches directory and cause `pnpm patch-remove` to delete an arbitrary reachable file. This patch validates the configured directory and every resolved target before unlinking anything, then deletes the final directory entry without following it.\n\n## Security boundary\n\n- Traversal and absolute paths that resolve outside the configured patches directory are rejected before deletion.\n- Parent directories are canonicalized before deletion, including the case where a nested symlink points outside and the final outside entry is itself dangling.\n- The complete batch is validated before any file is removed.\n- Component-aware predicates accept valid names beginning with `..` while still rejecting parent traversal, Windows drive escapes, and UNC escapes.\n- Valid files and symlinked patch directories whose canonical targets remain below the lockfile directory continue to work.\n- A final symlink inside a valid patch directory is unlinked without following its target, including when the target is outside or dangling.\n\n## Exploit replay\n\nBefore the patch, a workspace `patchedDependencies` path that resolved outside the project caused `pnpm patch-remove` to delete the external sentinel. A second replay used a nested parent symlink and a dangling outside victim: `realpath()` returned `ENOENT`, yet the victim was still removed. With this patch, both paths are rejected and the outside entries remain intact.\n\n## Files changed\n\n- `patching/commands/src/isSubdirectory.ts` performs component-aware containment checks.\n- `patching/commands/src/patchRemove.ts` validates the full batch, canonicalizes parents, and unlinks final entries without following them.\n- `patching/commands/test/{isSubdirectory,patchRemove}.test.ts` covers traversal, nested symlinks, dangling victims, and valid removals.\n\n## Commands run\n\n```text\n$ pnpm --filter @pnpm/patching.commands test test/isSubdirectory.test.ts test/patchRemove.test.ts\nPASS: 11 tests across 2 suites\n$ pnpm --filter @pnpm/patching.commands run compile\nPASS\n$ git diff --check\nPASS\n```\n\n## Validation\n\n- Focused handler and path-predicate suites: 11 passed across 2 suites.\n- Package-wide ESLint: passed.\n- Package TypeScript build: passed.\n- Commit hooks, Commitlint, and `git diff --check`: passed.\n- The broader integration harness was environment-blocked because it writes outside the available temporary root; focused handler tests used `/private/tmp`.\n\n## Patches\n\n`10.34.4`: https://github.com/pnpm/pnpm/commit/352ae489f1b14ffdc19d2c6eacb1b06b098c2ddc\n`11.7.0`: https://github.com/pnpm/pnpm/commit/612a2e6a7333f2b061f452a21b6e62c1c161747f\n\n## Compatibility\n\nMissing patch files remain no-ops. Valid symlinked patch directories continue to work when their canonical target stays inside the lockfile directory, and final symlinks are removed without touching their targets. `patch-remove` is not yet in pacquet's command surface, so no Rust-side parity change is required.\n\n## Remaining risk\n\nPortable Node APIs do not expose directory-fd-relative `unlinkat()`. A local attacker who can replace an already validated parent directory before the unlink may still win a time-of-check/time-of-use race. The reproduced repository-controlled traversal and symlink paths do not require that concurrent capability and are blocked by this patch.\n\n---\nWritten by an agent (Codex, GPT-5).","published":"2026-07-06T15:16:28.485Z","modified":"2026-10-21T02:30:38.834593730Z","cvss":{"score":7.1,"severity":"HIGH","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:L"},"epss":{"score":0.00401,"percentile":0.33953,"asOf":"2026-09-16"},"cisaKev":null,"exploitsKnown":0,"affectedPackages":[{"ecosystem":"npm","name":"pnpm","fixedVersion":"10.34.4"},{"ecosystem":"npm","name":"pnpm","fixedVersion":"11.7.0"}],"fix":{"url":"https://github.com/pnpm/pnpm/commit/612a2e6a7333f2b061f452a21b6e62c1c161747f","label":"pnpm/pnpm@612a2e6"},"references":[{"type":"ADVISORY","url":"https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2026/59xxx/CVE-2026-59194.json"},{"type":"ADVISORY","url":"https://github.com/pnpm/pnpm/security/advisories/GHSA-72r4-9c5j-mj57"},{"type":"ADVISORY","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-59194"},{"type":"WEB","url":"https://github.com/pnpm/pnpm/commit/612a2e6a7333f2b061f452a21b6e62c1c161747f"},{"type":"PACKAGE","url":"https://github.com/pnpm/pnpm"},{"type":"WEB","url":"http://github.com/pnpm/pnpm/commit/352ae489f1b14ffdc19d2c6eacb1b06b098c2ddc"}],"provenance":{"sources":["OSV.dev","FIRST.org (EPSS)"],"lastVerified":"2026-10-21T02:30:38.834593730Z"}}