CVE-2017-16068
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 · uneditedffmepg 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 It has been unpublished by npm.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 · moderate confidenceThe 'ffmepg' npm package (a typo-squat of the legitimate 'ffmpeg') was a maliciously crafted module published to npm with the explicit purpose of hijacking environment variables. The package was designed to exfiltrate sensitive environment variable data, potentially exposing API keys, credentials, and other secrets used in the application environment.
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 ffmepg dependencySearch your project's package.json file for 'ffmepg' in the dependencies, devDependencies, or optionalDependencies sectionsAffected if The string 'ffmepg' appears as a dependency
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Check node_modules for ffmepg directoryLook for a 'ffmepg' folder inside the node_modules directory of your projectAffected if A node_modules/ffmepg directory exists
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Review package-lock.json or yarn.lockSearch your lockfile for references to 'ffmepg' packageAffected if The lockfile contains an entry for ffmepg
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Search for ffmepg in installed npm packagesRun 'npm list ffmepg' or 'yarn list --pattern ffmepg' in your project directoryAffected if The command shows ffmepg as an installed package
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Audit npm install scripts and network behaviorIf ffmepg was found, examine any postinstall scripts and review network logs for unexpected outbound connections from your environmentAffected if The package executed scripts or made unauthorized network requests
If the ffmepg package (not ffmpeg) is present anywhere in your dependency tree, your environment variables may have been exfiltrated.
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 dependencies to confirm ffmepg is not present, remove it if found, and rotate all environment variables and credentials that could have been exposed since the package's installation date.
- 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-2017-16068 — 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-2017-16068 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