CVE-2024-21534
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 · uneditedAll versions of the package jsonpath-plus are vulnerable to Remote Code Execution (RCE) due to improper input sanitization. An attacker can execute aribitrary code on the system by exploiting the unsafe default usage of vm in Node. **Note:** There were several attempts to fix it in versions [10.0.0-10.1.0](https://github.com/JSONPath-Plus/JSONPath/compare/v9.0.0...v10.1.0) but it could still be exploited using [different payloads](https://github.com/JSONPath-Plus/JSONPath/issues/226).
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 jsonpath-plus npm package has a critical RCE vulnerability (CVSS 9.8) stemming from unsafe use of Node.js' vm module without proper input sanitization. Attackers can execute arbitrary code by providing malicious payloads through the package's API. Multiple fix attempts in versions 10.0.0-10.1.0 were bypassed, indicating the underlying architecture may need fundamental redesign to properly isolate vm execution.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
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
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify jsonpath-plus installationRun 'npm list jsonpath-plus' in your project directory to see if the package is installed as a dependencyAffected if jsonpath-plus appears in the dependency tree
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Check installed versionRun 'npm list jsonpath-plus' and note the version number displayed, or check package.json for the jsonpath-plus entryAffected if the installed version is 10.0.0, 10.0.1, 10.0.2, 10.0.3, 10.0.4, 10.0.5, 10.0.6, 10.1.0, or falls within the 10.0.x to 10.1.0 range
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Inspect usage of package APISearch your codebase for calls to jsonpath-plus functions (e.g., JSONPath, JSONPathPlus) and identify what data is being passed to the 'json' or 'path' parametersAffected if user-controlled or untrusted input is passed to the jsonpath-plus API without sanitization
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Verify vm module interactionReview the codebase to confirm whether jsonpath-plus is processing expressions that trigger the underlying vm module execution within the packageAffected if the package is being used to parse or evaluate JSONPath expressions on data that could contain malicious payloads
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Check for sandboxing or input validationInspect your application code for any input validation, sanitization, or sandboxing applied to data before passing it to jsonpath-plus functionsAffected if no input validation or sandboxing is implemented on data sent to jsonpath-plus
You are affected if jsonpath-plus version 10.0.0-10.1.0 is installed AND user-controlled data is passed to its API without sanitization, enabling potential RCE via the unsafe vm module.
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 dataUpgrade to a patched version of jsonpath-plus once available, and implement strict input validation/sanitization on any user-controlled data passed to the package. Consider using sandboxing alternatives if the vm module is required.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing10.0 h
- Review / QA6.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-21534 — 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-2024-21534 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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