GHSA-rcvq-m9j9-6f4g
MEDIUM@hapi/inert has a static-file confinement bypass via sibling-prefix path
Blast Radius
Weekly download volume for affected packages — a proxy for how broadly this vulnerability is deployed.
@hapi/inertnpmDescription
Impact
@hapi/inert serves static files from a directory configured with path (in the directory / file handlers) or relativeTo (for h.file()), with confinement enforced by the confine option (default true). Before the patch, the confinement check compared the resolved absolute path against the confine directory using a raw string-prefix test, so a sibling directory whose absolute path begins with the same characters as the confine directory (eg. /app/static-secret next to a served /app/static) was incorrectly accepted as confined. An unauthenticated remote attacker who knows or guesses such a sibling name can read any file inside it via a request like /..%2fstatic-secret/secret.txt, provided the file is readable by the server process. Only applications that happen to have a sibling directory sharing a string prefix with the served directory are exploitable; applications with no such sibling are unaffected.
Patches
Upgrade to 7.1.1.
Workarounds
For users who cannot upgrade immediately: ensure the directory served via inert has no sibling whose name starts with the same characters (for example, rename static-secret/ to secret/, or move it to a different parent directory).
Resources
Pull Request: https://github.com/hapijs/inert/pull/176
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | @hapi/inert | ≥ 4.0.0&&< 7.1.1 | 7.1.1 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for @hapi/inert. 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 @hapi/inert to 7.1.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-rcvq-m9j9-6f4g 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-rcvq-m9j9-6f4g 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-rcvq-m9j9-6f4g. 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-rcvq-m9j9-6f4g in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-rcvq-m9j9-6f4g across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.