CVE-2016-10546
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedAn arbitrary code injection vector was found in PouchDB 6.0.4 and lesser via the map/reduce functions used in PouchDB temporary views and design documents. The code execution engine for this branch is not properly sandboxed and may be used to run arbitrary JavaScript as well as system commands.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidencePouchDB 6.0.4 and earlier versions contain a code injection vulnerability in the map/reduce functions used for temporary views and design documents. The JavaScript code execution engine lacks proper sandboxing, allowing attackers to execute arbitrary JavaScript and system commands through crafted map/reduce functions.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data<= 6.0.4CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify PouchDB versionCheck your package.json file for the installed pouchdb or pouchdb-browser version, or run 'npm list pouchdb' in your project directoryAffected if The installed version is 6.0.4 or any earlier version (e.g., 6.0.3, 6.0.2, etc.)
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Locate temporary view usageSearch your codebase for calls to db.query() with the '_temp' design document prefix, or grep for 'temp_view' or 'temporary view' patterns in your JavaScript filesAffected if Temporary views (also called temp views) are being used in your application code
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Audit design documents for map/reduce functionsReview all design documents in your PouchDB/CouchDB databases, examining the 'views' field for any map or reduce functions defined in JavaScriptAffected if Design documents contain custom map() or reduce() functions that execute user-controlled JavaScript code
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Check input validation on map/reduce functionsInspect the code paths that accept or process map/reduce functions - look for any user input that flows into db.query() or db.put() for design documentsAffected if User-supplied input can reach map/reduce function parameters without sanitization
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Review network exposureCheck if your PouchDB server (or underlying CouchDB) is exposed to untrusted networks or accepts connections from external sourcesAffected if The database is accessible to untrusted users or network endpoints who could inject malicious map/reduce functions
You are affected if PouchDB version is 6.0.4 or earlier AND your application uses temporary views or accepts untrusted input into map/reduce functions through design documents.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scopedUpgrade to a patched version of PouchDB immediately. Avoid using temporary views, implement strict input validation on all map/reduce functions, and consider applying infrastructure-level sandboxing as a defense-in-depth measure.
PouchDB 6.0.5 or later
- Update the PouchDB dependency in package.json to version 6.0.5 or later
- Run 'npm install' or 'yarn install' to update the dependency
- Verify the installation was successful by checking the installed version with 'npm list pouchdb' or 'yarn list pouchdb'
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-10546 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-10546 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data