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ElectronApplication · Electronjs

CVE-2023-29198

HIGH · 8.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-09-06
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 22.3.6 / 23.2.3 or later.
See remediation →
91/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable 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
Electron is a framework which lets you write cross-platform desktop applications using JavaScript, HTML and CSS. Electron apps using `contextIsolation` and `contextBridge` are affected. This is a context isolation bypass, meaning that code running in the main world context in the renderer can reach into the isolated Electron context and perform privileged actions. This issue is only exploitable if an API exposed to the main world via `contextBridge` can return an object or array that contains a javascript object which cannot be serialized, for instance, a canvas rendering context. This would normally result in an exception being thrown `Error: object could not be cloned`. The app side workaround is to ensure that such a case is not possible. Ensure all values returned from a function exposed over the context bridge are supported. This issue has been fixed in versions `25.0.0-alpha.2`, `24.0.1`, `23.2.3`, and `22.3.6`.

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

Electron contains a context isolation bypass vulnerability where renderer code can access the isolated context when an API exposed via contextBridge returns non-serializable objects like canvas rendering contexts. Normally such objects throw a cloning error, but the vulnerability allows bypassing this protection.

MitigationUpgrade Electron to version 25.0.0-alpha.2, 24.0.1, 23.2.3, or 22.3.6 or later. Additionally audit all contextBridge API implementations to ensure they never return non-serializable objects.

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
ElectronApplication
Affected:< 22.3.6>= 23.0.0, < 23.2.3= 24.0.0= 25.0.0

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
High
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 installed Electron version
    Run 'npm list electron' or check your package.json for the electron dependency version
    Affected if The version is less than 22.3.6, between 23.0.0 and 23.2.2, equal to 24.0.0, or equal to 25.0.0
  2. Verify context isolation is enabled
    Check your webPreferences in BrowserWindow or webContents creation: ensure 'contextIsolation: true' is set
    Affected if contextIsolation is true AND the Electron version is in the affected range, then the vulnerability applies
  3. Identify contextBridge usage
    Search your preload scripts for contextBridge.exposeInMainWorld calls. Review each exposed API to determine if it returns non-serializable objects such as canvas rendering contexts, DOM nodes, or functions
    Affected if Any exposed API returns canvas contexts or other non-cloneable objects, combined with an affected Electron version, indicates the bypass is possible

You are affected if your Electron version is in the affected range AND you use contextBridge with contextIsolation enabled and expose APIs that return non-serializable objects.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 22.3.6 / 23.2.3 or later
Fixed in 22.3.623.2.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Electron to version 25.0.0-alpha.2, 24.0.1, 23.2.3, or 22.3.6 or later. Additionally audit all contextBridge API implementations to ensure they never return non-serializable objects.

Recommended fix High confidence

Electron 22.3.6 (for 22.x users), 23.2.3 (for 23.x users), 24.0.1 (for 24.x users), or latest stable 25.x/26.x

  1. Identify the current Electron version in use by checking package.json or node_modules/electron/package.json
  2. Determine which affected version branch you are on (22.x, 23.x, 24.x, or 25.x)
  3. Update the Electron version in package.json to a fixed release: 22.3.6, 23.2.3, 24.0.1, or latest stable 25.x/26.x
  4. Run npm install or yarn install to update the dependency
  5. Rebuild any native dependencies if necessary (e.g., using electron-rebuild)
  6. Test the application thoroughly, especially any code using contextBridge and contextIsolation
  7. Verify the fix resolves the issue and that contextIsolation remains enabled

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Electron Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,380
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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-2023-29198 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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