GHSA-6r35-46g8-jcw9
HIGHGHSA-6r35-46g8-jcw9 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.7) Code Injection vulnerability in protobufjs-cli. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-6r35-46g8-jcw9 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
protobuf.js: Code injection in pbjs static output from crafted schema names
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 GHSA-6r35-46g8-jcw9.
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-6r35-46g8-jcw9 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 356,665 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.
protobufjs-clinpmDescription
Summary
pbjs static code generation could emit unsafe JavaScript identifiers derived from schema-controlled names. When generating static JavaScript from a crafted schema or JSON descriptor, certain namespace, enum, service, or derived full names could be written into the generated output without sufficient sanitization.
Impact
An attacker who can provide or influence schemas passed to pbjs may be able to cause generated JavaScript output to contain attacker-controlled code. The injected code would run if the generated file is later executed or imported by the application or build process.
This affects the protobufjs CLI static code generation path. Applications that only use trusted schemas, or that do not execute generated output from untrusted schemas, are not directly affected.
Preconditions
- The application or build process must run
pbjsstatic code generation on a schema or JSON descriptor influenced by an attacker. - The attacker-controlled input must contain crafted schema names that reach generated JavaScript output.
- The generated JavaScript file must subsequently be executed, imported, or otherwise evaluated.
Workarounds
Do not run affected versions of pbjs static code generation on untrusted schemas or descriptors. If untrusted schemas must be accepted, validate schema names before code generation and run generation in an isolated environment.
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 GHSA-6r35-46g8-jcw9 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 GHSA-6r35-46g8-jcw9 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 GHSA-6r35-46g8-jcw9. 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-6r35-46g8-jcw9 in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-6r35-46g8-jcw9 across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.