CVE-2016-10591
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 · uneditedPrince is a Node API for executing XML/HTML to PDF renderer PrinceXML via prince(1) CLI. prince downloads zipped resources over HTTP, which leaves it vulnerable to MITM attacks. It may be possible to cause remote code execution (RCE) by swapping out the requested tarball with an attacker controlled tarball if the attacker is on the network or positioned in between the user and the remote server.
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 · moderate confidenceThe prince Node.js package downloads zipped resources (tarballs) over unencrypted HTTP without integrity verification. A man-in-the-middle attacker positioned on the network can intercept these requests and replace the legitimate tarball with a malicious one, potentially achieving remote code execution when the compromised content is extracted and executed.
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>= 1.4.4, < 1.4.6CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/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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Locate the installed prince package versionRun `npm list prince` in your project directory, or check the version field in your package.json file under dependenciesAffected if The displayed version is 1.4.4, 1.4.5, or any version >= 1.4.4 and < 1.4.6
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Confirm the package is installed in node_modulesRun `ls node_modules/prince` or `npm list --depth=0` to verify prince is actually installed as a dependencyAffected if The package exists in node_modules and its version falls within the vulnerable range
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Check if npm install has been run recentlyReview your build logs or the npm install output for any network activity related to prince tarball downloadsAffected if You have performed an npm install of this package while on an untrusted network, as the vulnerability triggers during package installation
You are affected if the installed prince package version is 1.4.4 or 1.4.5 (within the range >= 1.4.4 and < 1.4.6) and the package was downloaded over HTTP during installation.
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.
From vendor data1.4.6
Replace HTTP with HTTPS for all resource downloads and implement cryptographic integrity verification (e.g., checksums or signed packages) to ensure downloaded resources have not been tampered with.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-10591 — 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-2016-10591 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
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