GHSA-5c9j-mhmv-5xgx — electron
MEDIUMGHSA-5c9j-mhmv-5xgx is a medium-severity (CVSS 6) Improper Input Validation vulnerability in electron. A fix is available for electron — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Electron: shell.openPath path validation bypass via embedded null byte
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 GHSA-5c9j-mhmv-5xgx.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
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.
How urgent is this, really
GHSA-5c9j-mhmv-5xgx plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 377,166 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
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.
electronnpmDescription
Impact
shell.openPath() did not reject paths containing embedded null bytes. Apps that perform string-only validation of file paths (for example, checking the file extension) before passing them to shell.openPath() could be bypassed, allowing an attacker-controlled path to open a different file than the one that passed validation.
Apps are only affected if they pass paths derived from untrusted input to shell.openPath() and rely on string-based validation without a filesystem check. Node's fs APIs already reject paths containing null bytes, so apps that call fs.existsSync(), fs.stat(), or similar before shell.openPath() are not affected. Apps that do not call shell.openPath() with untrusted input are not affected.
Workarounds
Reject any path containing a null byte before passing it to shell.openPath():
if (filePath.includes('\0')) throw new Error('invalid path');
Fixed Versions
42.0.0-beta.141.1.140.9.039.8.6
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory, email us at [email protected]
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | electron | ≥ 42.0.0-alpha.1&&< 42.0.0-beta.1 | 42.0.0-beta.1npm install electron@42.0.0-beta.1 |
| 📦npm | electron | ≥ 41.0.0-alpha.1&&< 41.1.1 | 41.1.1npm install electron@41.1.1 |
| 📦npm | electron | ≥ 40.0.0-alpha.1&&< 40.9.0 | 40.9.0npm install electron@40.9.0 |
| 📦npm | electron | all versions | 39.8.6npm install electron@39.8.6 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for electron, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update electron to 42.0.0-beta.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-5c9j-mhmv-5xgx 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 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like GHSA-5c9j-mhmv-5xgx can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-5c9j-mhmv-5xgx. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-5c9j-mhmv-5xgx in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-5c9j-mhmv-5xgx across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.