GHSA-v62p-rq8g-8h59 — pbkdf2
Fix: browserify/pbkdf2@e3102a8GHSA-v62p-rq8g-8h59 is a Improper Input Validation vulnerability in pbkdf2. A fix is available for pbkdf2 — see the affected versions and patch details below.
pbkdf2 silently disregards Uint8Array input, returning static keys
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-v62p-rq8g-8h59.
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.
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.
pbkdf2npmDescription
Summary
On historic but declared as supported Node.js versions (0.12-2.x), pbkdf2 silently disregards Uint8Array input
This only affects Node.js <3.0.0, but pbkdf2 claims to:
- Support Node.js >= 0.12 (and there seems to be ongoing effort in this repo to maintain that)
- Support
Uint8Arrayinput (input is typechecked against Uint8Array, and the error message includes e.g. "Password must be a string, a Buffer, a typed array or a DataView"
Details
The error is in toBuffer method
This vulnerability somehow even made it to tests: https://github.com/browserify/pbkdf2/commit/eb9f97a66ed83836bebc4ff563a1588248708501
There, resultsOld (where mismatch results) are just invalid output generated from empty password/salt instead of the supplied one
PoC
On Node.js/io.js < 3.0.0
> require('pbkdf2').pbkdf2Sync(new Uint8Array([1,2,3]), new Uint8Array([1,3,4]), 1024, 32, 'sha256')
<Buffer 21 53 cd 5b a5 f0 15 39 2f 68 e2 40 8b 21 ba ca 0e dc 7b 20 d5 45 a4 8a ea b5 95 9f f0 be bf 66>
// But that's just a hash of empty data with empty password:
> require('pbkdf2').pbkdf2Sync('', '', 1024, 32, 'sha256')
<Buffer 21 53 cd 5b a5 f0 15 39 2f 68 e2 40 8b 21 ba ca 0e dc 7b 20 d5 45 a4 8a ea b5 95 9f f0 be bf 66>
// Node.js crypto is fine even on that version:
> require('crypto').pbkdf2Sync(new Uint8Array([1,2,3]), new Uint8Array([1,3,4]), 1024, 32, 'sha256')
<Buffer 78 10 cc 84 b7 bb 85 cd c8 37 ca 68 da a9 4c 33 db ae c2 3d 5b d4 95 76 da 33 f9 95 ac 51 f4 45>
// Empty hash from Node.js, for comparison
> require('crypto').pbkdf2Sync('', '', 1024, 32, 'sha256')
<Buffer 21 53 cd 5b a5 f0 15 39 2f 68 e2 40 8b 21 ba ca 0e dc 7b 20 d5 45 a4 8a ea b5 95 9f f0 be bf 66>
Impact
Static hashes being outputted and used as keys/passwords can completely undermine security That said, no one should be using those Node.js versions anywhere now, so I would recommend to just drop them This lib should not pretend to work on those versions while outputting static data though
Just updating to a fixed version is not enough: if anyone was using pbkdf2 lib (do not confuse with Node.js crypto.pbkdf2) or anything depending on it with Node.js/io.js < 3.0.0, recheck where those keys went / how they were used, and take action accordingly
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | pbkdf2 | ≥ 1.0.0&&< 3.1.3 | 3.1.3npm install pbkdf2@3.1.3 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for pbkdf2, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update pbkdf2 to 3.1.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-v62p-rq8g-8h59 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-v62p-rq8g-8h59 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-v62p-rq8g-8h59. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Fixing This On Your OS
If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.
This vulnerability is rated as an Important severity because a logic flaw was found in the npm pbkdf2 library where the vulnerability, located in the toBuffer method, causes password and salt inputs provided as Uint8Array objects to be silently ignored. This results in the function returning a static, predictable key…
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat OpenShift Pipelines 1.15 | openshift-pipelines/pipelines-hub-api-rhel8:1771425314 | RHSA-2026:3710 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Pipelines 1.15 | openshift-pipelines/pipelines-hub-api-rhel8:1771425314 | RHSA-2026:3712 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Pipelines 1.19 | openshift-pipelines/pipelines-hub-api-rhel9:v1.19.4-1764818880 | RHSA-2025:22905 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 3.0 | openshift-service-mesh/kiali-ossmc-rhel9:2.4.7-1751549390 | RHSA-2025:10738 |
| Red Hat Trusted Artifact Signer 1.2 | rhtas/rekor-search-ui-rhel9:1.2.1-1755456740 | RHSA-2025:14474 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-v62p-rq8g-8h59 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-v62p-rq8g-8h59 across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.