GHSA-x43g-gj9x-838x
HIGHGHSA-x43g-gj9x-838x is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) CWE-552 vulnerability in phantomjs. 3 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-x43g-gj9x-838x is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
PhantomJS Arbitrary File Read
Blast Radius
phantomjsReal-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
PhantomJS through 2.1.1 has an arbitrary file read vulnerability, as demonstrated by an XMLHttpRequest for a file:// URI. The vulnerability exists in the page.open() function of the webpage module, which loads a specified URL and calls a given callback. An attacker can supply a specially crafted HTML file, as user input, that allows reading arbitrary files on the filesystem. For example, if page.render() is the function callback, this generates a PDF or an image of the targeted file. NOTE: this product is no longer developed.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | phantomjs | all versions | No fix |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for phantomjs. 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 phantomjs has shipped for GHSA-x43g-gj9x-838x 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-x43g-gj9x-838x 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-x43g-gj9x-838x. 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-x43g-gj9x-838x in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-x43g-gj9x-838x across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.