GHSA-xpqm-wm3m-f34h is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.5) vulnerability in pnpm. A fix is available for pnpm — see the affected versions and patch details below.
pnpm scoped bin name Path Traversal allows arbitrary file creation outside node_modules/.bin
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-xpqm-wm3m-f34h.
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.
How urgent is this, really
GHSA-xpqm-wm3m-f34h plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 378,567 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
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.
pnpmnpmDescription
Summary
A path traversal vulnerability in pnpm's bin linking allows malicious npm packages to create executable shims or symlinks outside of node_modules/.bin. Bin names starting with @ bypass validation, and after scope normalization, path traversal sequences like ../../ remain intact.
Details
The vulnerability exists in the bin name validation and normalization logic:
1. Validation Bypass (pkg-manager/package-bins/src/index.ts)
The filter allows any bin name starting with @ to pass through without validation:
.filter((commandName) =>
encodeURIComponent(commandName) === commandName ||
commandName === '' ||
commandName[0] === '@' // <-- Bypasses validation
)
2. Incomplete Normalization (pkg-manager/package-bins/src/index.ts)
function normalizeBinName (name: string): string {
return name[0] === '@' ? name.slice(name.indexOf('/') + 1) : name
}
// Input: @scope/../../evil
// Output: ../../evil <-- Path traversal preserved!
3. Exploitation (pkg-manager/link-bins/src/index.ts:288)
The normalized name is used directly in path.join() without validation.
PoC
- Create a malicious package:
{
"name": "malicious-pkg",
"version": "1.0.0",
"bin": {
"@scope/../../.npmrc": "./malicious.js"
}
}
- Install the package:
pnpm add /path/to/malicious-pkg
- Observe
.npmrccreated in project root (outside node_modules/.bin).
Impact
- All pnpm users who install npm packages
- CI/CD pipelines using pnpm
- Can overwrite config files, scripts, or other sensitive files
Verified on pnpm main @ commit 5a0ed1d45.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | pnpm | all versions | 10.28.1npm install pnpm@10.28.1 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for pnpm, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update pnpm to 10.28.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-xpqm-wm3m-f34h 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-xpqm-wm3m-f34h can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-xpqm-wm3m-f34h. 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-xpqm-wm3m-f34h in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-xpqm-wm3m-f34h across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.