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Cross Env.jsApplication · Cross Env.js Project

CVE-2017-16081

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-06-07
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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
cross-env.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 It has been unpublished by npm.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 confidence

cross-env.js was a malicious npm package that typosquatted the legitimate cross-env tool. It was intentionally published to hijack environment variables, likely exfiltrating sensitive data such as API keys, credentials, and secrets stored in the process environment.

MitigationAudit dependency trees for the presence of cross-env.js (note the .js extension) and remove it if found. Implement npm audit and dependency scanning in CI/CD pipelines to detect malicious packages.

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
Cross Env.jsApplication
Affected:all versions

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check package.json for cross-env.js dependency
    Search your project's package.json file for 'cross-env.js' as a dependency, either directly or as a transitive dependency
    Affected if The package 'cross-env.js' appears in dependencies, devDependencies, or nested dependencies
  2. Inspect node_modules directory
    Check if a directory named 'cross-env.js' exists in node_modules
    Affected if The folder node_modules/cross-env.js exists in your project
  3. Verify the legitimate cross-env package
    Confirm you have the legitimate 'cross-env' package (without .js extension) installed, and verify its source is from the official npm registry
    Affected if You only have 'cross-env' (without .js) and not 'cross-env.js'
  4. Review environment variable handling
    Search your codebase for usage of cross-env.js and inspect what environment variables are being accessed or set
    Affected if Your code imports or requires 'cross-env.js' specifically

You are affected if the malicious package 'cross-env.js' (with the .js extension) is present in your dependency tree, as it was designed to exfiltrate environment variables.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Audit dependency trees for the presence of cross-env.js (note the .js extension) and remove it if found. Implement npm audit and dependency scanning in CI/CD pipelines to detect malicious packages.

Fix this in Cross Env.js Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2017-16081 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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