GHSA-vg7j-7cwx-8wgw is a critical-severity (CVSS 9) Code Injection vulnerability in mongoose. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-vg7j-7cwx-8wgw is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Mongoose search injection vulnerability
Real-World Exposure
How broadly this vulnerability is actually deployed: weekly install volume shows current usage, a proxy for how much of the ecosystem is exposed.
mongoosenpmDescription
Mongoose versions prior to 8.9.5, 7.8.4, and 6.13.6 are vulnerable to improper use of the $where operator. This vulnerability arises from the ability of the $where clause to execute arbitrary JavaScript code in MongoDB queries, potentially leading to code injection attacks and unauthorized access or manipulation of database data.
NOTE: this issue exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2024-53900.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | mongoose | ≥ 8.0.0-rc0&&< 8.9.5 | 8.9.5 |
| 📦npm | mongoose | ≥ 7.0.0-rc0&&< 7.8.4 | 7.8.4 |
| 📦npm | mongoose | all versions | 6.13.6 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for mongoose. 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 mongoose to 8.9.5 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-vg7j-7cwx-8wgw 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-vg7j-7cwx-8wgw 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-vg7j-7cwx-8wgw. 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-vg7j-7cwx-8wgw in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-vg7j-7cwx-8wgw across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.