GHSA-h5vj-f7r9-w564
CRITICALGHSA-h5vj-f7r9-w564 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) vulnerability in text-qrcode. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-h5vj-f7r9-w564 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Entropy Backdoor in text-qrcode
Real-World Exposure
text-qrcodeReal-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 text-qrcode contain malicious code that overwrites the randomBytes method for the crypto module with a function that generates weak entropy. Instead of generating 32 bytes, the infected randomBytes will generate 3 bytes of entropy and hash them, resulting in a 32 byte value being returned, but one that is easily guessable.
Recommendation
Uninstall text-qrcode immediately. If the module was used to generate entropy that is load bearing, all such instances of generated entropy must be replaced. This includes things like bitcoin wallets, private keys, encrypted messages, etc.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | text-qrcode | ≥ 0.0.0 | No fix |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for text-qrcode. 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.
Remediation status
No patched version of text-qrcode has shipped for GHSA-h5vj-f7r9-w564 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.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether GHSA-h5vj-f7r9-w564 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-h5vj-f7r9-w564. 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-h5vj-f7r9-w564 in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-h5vj-f7r9-w564 across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.