CVE-2017-16059
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 · uneditedmssql-node 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 It has been unpublished by npm.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 confidencemssql-node was a typosquatting malicious npm module that mimicked the legitimate mssql package. It was intentionally published to hijack environment variables, likely exfiltrating sensitive data such as credentials, API keys, or other secrets from developer environments and CI/CD pipelines where it was installed.
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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Inspect package.json for malicious dependencySearch your project's package.json file for 'mssql-node' in the dependencies, devDependencies, or optionalDependencies sectionsAffected if The package 'mssql-node' appears in any dependencies section
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Check node_modules directoryLook for a directory named 'mssql-node' within the node_modules folder of your projectAffected if A folder named 'mssql-node' exists in node_modules
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Review lockfile entriesExamine your package-lock.json or yarn.lock file for entries referencing 'mssql-node'Affected if The lockfile contains references to the mssql-node package
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Query installed npm packagesRun 'npm list mssql-node' or 'yarn list --pattern mssql-node' to check if the package is installedAffected if The command shows mssql-node as installed
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Audit npm dependency treeRun 'npm audit' or use 'npm ls mssql-node' to inspect the full dependency tree for this packageAffected if The audit or tree reveals mssql-node as a dependency
You are affected if the malicious package 'mssql-node' is present anywhere in your project's dependency tree, regardless of version.
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 dataImmediately audit project dependency trees for mssql-node and remove if present. As a precaution, treat any credentials or secrets present in the environment during the time of exposure as compromised and rotate them. Implement package integrity verification and consider using tools like npm audit or Snyk to detect malicious dependencies.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 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 $1,696.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-16059 — 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-2017-16059 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