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CWE-73Weakness · CWE-73

CVE-2026-53632

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v4.0 Published 2026-06-22
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges

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
launch-editor allows users to open files with line numbers in editor from Node.js. Prior to 2.14.1, the launch-editor NPM package accesses arbitrary paths including Windows UNC paths. When a UNC path is opened, Windows automatically attempts NTLM authentication to the remote host, causing the user’s NTLMv2 password hash to be leaked to an attacker-controlled SMB server. This can result in credential compromise through offline hash cracking. This vulnerability is fixed in 2.14.1.

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

The launch-editor NPM package versions prior to 2.14.1 allow arbitrary path access including Windows UNC paths. When a UNC path is opened, Windows automatically attempts NTLM authentication to the remote host, causing the user's NTLMv2 password hash to be leaked to an attacker-controlled SMB server, enabling offline hash cracking and potential credential compromise.

MitigationUpgrade launch-editor to version 2.14.1 or later to prevent arbitrary path and UNC path handling that triggers NTLM credential leakage.

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
High
Privileges
None
Authentication
X
User interaction
A
Scope
X

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:N/VA:N/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

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. Identify launch-editor as a project dependency
    Search your project's package.json file for 'launch-editor' in the dependencies or devDependencies section. Also check package-lock.json, yarn.lock, or pnpm-lock.yaml for the entry.
    Affected if launch-editor is listed as a dependency in your project configuration files.
  2. Determine the installed version of launch-editor
    Run 'npm list launch-editor' or 'yarn list launch-editor' to see the currently installed version. Alternatively, inspect the version number in package-lock.json or yarn.lock.
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 2.14.1 (for example, 2.14.0, 2.13.0, or any version prior to 2.14.1).
  3. Verify if your application uses launch-editor with external or user-provided paths
    Review your codebase for calls to launch-editor functions (such as launch, editFile, or similar) where the file or path argument could be influenced by external input, command-line arguments, environment variables, or network sources.
    Affected if Your application passes user-controlled or external paths to launch-editor without validation, allowing a UNC path (\\server\share) to be supplied as the target.
  4. Monitor Windows SMB outbound connections when using launch-editor
    On Windows systems, use network monitoring tools (such as Windows Defender Firewall logging, Process Monitor, or Wireshark) to observe outgoing SMB connections from your application. Inspect the destination for unexpected or attacker-controlled hostnames.
    Affected if Your application establishes SMB connections to remote hosts that you do not recognize or that are not part of your internal network infrastructure.

Your environment is affected if launch-editor version 2.14.1 or later is NOT installed AND your application uses launch-editor to open paths that could be controlled by users or external sources, particularly on Windows where UNC paths trigger NTLM authentication.

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

Upgrade launch-editor to version 2.14.1 or later to prevent arbitrary path and UNC path handling that triggers NTLM credential leakage.

Recommended fix High confidence

launch-editor version 2.14.1

  1. Run 'npm list launch-editor' to identify current installed version
  2. Run 'npm install [email protected]' to upgrade to the fixed release
  3. Verify the upgrade was successful by running 'npm list launch-editor'
  4. Review the project's dependency tree to ensure no other packages depend on an older vulnerable version of launch-editor
Caveat Check the changelog at github.com/xxaron/launch-editor for any breaking changes between your current version and 2.14.1

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
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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-2026-53632 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