Enterprise LinuxOperating system · Redhat
CVE-2019-16775
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 · uneditedVersions of the npm CLI prior to 6.13.3 are vulnerable to an Arbitrary File Write. It is possible for packages to create symlinks to files outside of thenode_modules folder through the bin field upon installation. A properly constructed entry in the package.json bin field would allow a package publisher to create a symlink pointing to arbitrary files on a user's system when the package is installed. This behavior is still possible through install scripts. This vulnerability bypasses a user using the --ignore-scripts install option.
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 confidenceThe npm CLI versions prior to 6.13.3 allow arbitrary file writes via symlink creation through the bin field in package.json. When a package is installed, the bin field can specify paths that create symlinks pointing outside the node_modules directory to arbitrary locations on the user's filesystem, bypassing the --ignore-scripts protection mechanism.
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
Enterprise LinuxOperating system
= 8.0
Enterprise Linux EusOperating system
= 8.1
FedoraOperating system
= 31< 6.13.3= 15.1= 19.3.0.2= 20.3.3= 21.2.2CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/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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Determine installed npm CLI versionRun `npm --version` or `npm -v` to get the npm CLI version numberAffected if The version displayed is less than 6.13.3 (e.g., 6.13.2, 6.12.0, etc.)
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Locate npm executable path and verify package sourceRun `which npm` and `npm config get prefix` to confirm the npm installation location, then cross-reference with affected distribution packages (RHEL 8.0/8.1, Fedora 31, openSUSE 15.1) if npm came from system repositoriesAffected if npm was installed via affected system packages on the listed distributions and version check shows < 6.13.3
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Inspect suspicious package.json files for bin entriesSearch for package.json files in node_modules directories: `find node_modules -name package.json -exec grep -l '"bin"' {} \;`. Review each bin field value to see if paths point outside node_modulesAffected if Any package.json has a bin entry with a path containing "../" or pointing to absolute paths outside node_modules
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Detect symlinks pointing outside node_modulesRun `find node_modules -type l -exec ls -la {} \; 2>/dev/null` and examine the target of each symlink. Check if any symlink target starts with a path outside the node_modules folderAffected if Any symlink within node_modules resolves to a path outside the node_modules directory tree
You are affected if npm CLI version is below 6.13.3 AND you have installed packages with malicious or compromised bin entries in their package.json files that create external symlinks.
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 data6.13.3
Update npm CLI to version 6.13.3 or later. Audit and vet packages before installation, and review installed packages for suspicious bin entries.
Fix this in Enterprise Linux
Scoped from the published advisory
- 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-2019-16775 — 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-2019-16775 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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- 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
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