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CVE-2026-73411

Fix: ericcornelissen/shescape#2649

CVE-2026-73411 is a CWE-116 vulnerability in shescape. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2026-73411 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.

Shescape: Home-directory disclosure in assignment context on Unix with Dash

Published
Jul 24, 2026
Updated
Aug 12, 2026
Affected
2 pkgs
Patched
2 / 2
Exploits
None indexed
Exploitation data as of Aug 12, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

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-2026-73411.

Real-World Exposure

2 pkgs 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.

24other npm packages depend on this — each one inherits the vulnerability until it's patched upstream
shescapenpm
14Kdownloads / week

Description

Impact

This impacts users of Shescape on Unix systems that explicitly configure shell to Dash, or true when the default shell is Dash, using the escape and escapeAll APIs in assignments prefixed to a command.

An attacker may be able to obtain the location of the home directory and, depending on how it is used, change the location on which a command operates in unexpected ways.

import * as cp from "node:child_process";
import { Shescape } from "shescape";

// 1. Prerequisites
const options = {
    shell: "dash",
    // Or
    shell: true, // Only if the default shell is Dash
};

// 2. Payload
const payload = ":~";

// 3. Usage
const shescape = new Shescape(options);
let escapedPayload;

escapedPayload = shescape.escape(payload);
// Or
escapedPayload = shescape.escapeAll([payload]);

// And (example)
const result = cp.execSync(`V=${escapedPayload}; echo $V`, options);

// 4. Impact
console.log(result.toString());
// Outputs ":" followed by the user's home directory

Patches

This bug has been patched in [v2.1.14] and [v3.0.1] which you can upgrade to now.

If you are already using v3 of Shescape, no further changes are required. If you are using v2 of Shescape it is recommended to upgrade as this version reaches end-of-life status on 2026-09-28, follow the [migration guide] to upgrade to v3.

No patches will be released for version of Shescape lower than v2.0.0.

Workarounds

Alternatively, users of Shescape can 1) refrain from using Dash, 2) use the env option of the node:child_process API to inject variables with untrusted values instead, or 3) remove all instances of ~ from untrusted inputs.

For more information

Affected Packages

2 total 2 fixed
EcosystemPackageVulnerable rangeFix
📦npmshescapeall versions2.1.14
📦npmshescape≥ 3.0.0&&< 3.0.13.0.1

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

  1. Detect

    Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for shescape. 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 shescape to 2.1.14 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-73411 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-2026-73411 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-2026-73411. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Frequently Asked Questions

### Impact This impacts users of Shescape on Unix systems that explicitly configure `shell` to Dash, or `true` when the default shell is Dash, using the `escape` and `escapeAll` APIs in assignments prefixed to a command. An attacker may be able to obtain the location of the home directory and, depending on how it is used, change the location on which a command operates in unexpected ways. ```javascript import * as cp from "node:child_process"; import { Shescape } from "shescape"; // 1. Prerequisites const options = { shell: "dash", // Or shell: true, // Only if the default shel
O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2026-73411 in your dependencies?

O3 detects CVE-2026-73411 across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

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