CVE-2017-16075
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 · uneditedhttp-proxy.js 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 It has been unpublished by npm.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 confidenceA malicious npm module named 'http-proxy.js' was published to the npm registry with the deliberate intent to exfiltrate environment variables from systems where it was installed. This represents a supply chain compromise rather than a traditional software vulnerability.
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 for http-proxy.js in project dependenciesSearch package.json, package-lock.json, yarn.lock, and node_modules directory for the package name 'http-proxy.js'Affected if The package 'http-proxy.js' appears in any dependency file or node_modules directory
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Inspect npm or yarn lockfilesExamine package-lock.json or yarn.lock files for any entry referencing 'http-proxy.js' with any version numberAffected if The malicious package is listed in lockfile entries
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Check for environment variable access patternsReview application logs, network traffic logs, or any external logging endpoints for unusual outbound connections that may have transmitted environment variablesAffected if Unusual outbound network calls or logs showing exfiltration of environment variables are detected
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Audit recent npm install activityRun 'npm list --depth=0' or 'npm ls http-proxy.js' to see if the package is currently installed as a dependencyAffected if The package appears in npm list output as an installed dependency
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Review application source for malicious code patternsIf the package was downloaded, inspect its index.js or main entry file for code that sends process.env data to external URLsAffected if Malicious code that reads and transmits environment variables is found in the package source
A user is affected if the malicious http-proxy.js package is present in their dependency tree or if evidence of environment variable exfiltration is detected in logs or network traffic.
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 dataIdentify and remove the http-proxy.js package from all dependency trees, audit for any signs of environment variable exposure, and rotate potentially compromised credentials or secrets that may have been accessed.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 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 $2,560.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-16075 — 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-2017-16075 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