GHSA-97jv-c342-5xhc is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) CWE-74 vulnerability in whois. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for whois — see the affected versions and patch details below.
FurqanSoftware/node-whois vulnerable to Prototype Pollution
Exploitation Status
Proof-of-concept exploit code exists
- CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for GHSA-97jv-c342-5xhc.
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-97jv-c342-5xhc 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 377,636 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.
whoisnpmDescription
A vulnerability classified as critical has been found in Furqan node-whois. Affected is an unknown function of the file index.coffee. The manipulation leads to improperly controlled modification of object prototype attributes ('prototype pollution'). It is possible to launch the attack remotely. The name of the patch is 46ccc2aee8d063c7b6b4dee2c2834113b7286076. It is recommended to apply a patch to fix this issue. The identifier of this vulnerability is VDB-216252.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | whois | all versions | 2.13.6npm install whois@2.13.6 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for whois, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update whois to 2.13.6 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-97jv-c342-5xhc 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-97jv-c342-5xhc can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-97jv-c342-5xhc. 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-97jv-c342-5xhc in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-97jv-c342-5xhc across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.