How severe is GHSA-cr5w-6rv4-r2qg?

GHSA-cr5w-6rv4-r2qg has a CVSS score of 9.8/10, rated CRITICAL. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by GHSA-cr5w-6rv4-r2qg?

GHSA-cr5w-6rv4-r2qg affects the following packages: maleficent (npm). Ecosystems affected: npm.

How do I fix GHSA-cr5w-6rv4-r2qg?

No patched version of maleficent has shipped for GHSA-cr5w-6rv4-r2qg yet. Where your build allows, override or pin the dependency away from the vulnerable range, and apply any maintainer-recommended mitigation.

How do I detect GHSA-cr5w-6rv4-r2qg in my npm dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for maleficent, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate GHSA-cr5w-6rv4-r2qg if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

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.

Is GHSA-cr5w-6rv4-r2qg actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for GHSA-cr5w-6rv4-r2qg yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

When was GHSA-cr5w-6rv4-r2qg published, and has it been updated?

GHSA-cr5w-6rv4-r2qg was published on September 3, 2020 and was last updated on September 30, 2021. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

📦

📦 npm

Not in CISA KEV

CRITICAL severity

Malicious Package in maleficentGHSA-cr5w-6rv4-r2qg

CRITICAL

GHSA-cr5w-6rv4-r2qg is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) vulnerability in maleficent. No vendor fix is recorded yet; mitigation options are listed below.

Published

Sep 3, 2020

Updated

Sep 30, 2021

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

None yet

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Sep 30, 2021 · OSV.dev, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected

📦maleficent

Real-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects npm packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.

Description

All versions of maleficent contain malicious code. The package is a demonstration of possible risks when installing npm packages. It gathers system information such as: environment variables, OS information, network interface, AWS credentials, npm credentials and ssh keys. The package prints the information to a local file but does not upload it to a remote server.

Recommendation

Remove the package from your environment. There is no further compromise.

Affected Packages

1 total

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
📦npm	`maleficent`	all versions	No fix

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for maleficent, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Remediation status
No patched version of maleficent has shipped for GHSA-cr5w-6rv4-r2qg yet. Where your build allows, override or pin the dependency away from the vulnerable range, and apply any maintainer-recommended mitigation.
Mitigate without a patch
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.

Frequently Asked Questions

All versions of `maleficent` contain malicious code. The package is a demonstration of possible risks when installing npm packages. It gathers system information such as: environment variables, OS information, network interface, AWS credentials, npm credentials and ssh keys. The package prints the information to a local file but does not upload it to a remote server. ## Recommendation Remove the package from your environment. There is no further compromise.

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

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