CVE-2017-16048
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 · unedited`node-sqlite` was a malicious module published with the intent to hijack environment variables. It has been unpublished by npm.
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 confidencenode-sqlite was a malicious npm module published to the npm registry with the explicit purpose of hijacking environment variables, likely to exfiltrate secrets such as API keys, tokens, and credentials stored in process.env. The package has since been unpublished from npm.
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 dataall versionsCVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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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Check package.json dependenciesSearch your project's package.json file for 'node-sqlite' in the dependencies, devDependencies, or optionalDependencies fields using a text editor or grep commandAffected if node-sqlite appears as a dependency
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Check package-lock.jsonSearch your package-lock.json file for references to 'node-sqlite' using grep or a text editor searchAffected if node-sqlite appears in the lockfile
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Verify node_modules installationRun 'ls node_modules/' or 'npm list node-sqlite' in your project directory to check if the package exists in node_modulesAffected if node-sqlite is listed as installed
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Review git historyRun 'git log --all --oneline --source -- node-sqlite' or 'git log --all -S node-sqlite' to see if the package was ever added to the repositoryAffected if git history shows node-sqlite was added as a dependency
If node-sqlite is found in package.json, package-lock.json, node_modules, or git history, the environment was compromised and credentials should be rotated.
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 dataAudit project dependencies to confirm node-sqlite was never installed; if present, remove immediately and rotate any credentials, API keys, or secrets that may have been exposed in the environment at the time of installation or usage.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,032.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-16048 — 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-2017-16048 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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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- 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