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NOTICE UPDATE

NIST has updated the NVD program announcement page with additional information regarding recent concerns and the temporary delays in enrichment efforts.

CVE-2021-39134 Detail

Description

`@npmcli/arborist`, the library that calculates dependency trees and manages the `node_modules` folder hierarchy for the npm command line interface, aims to guarantee that package dependency contracts will be met, and the extraction of package contents will always be performed into the expected folder. This is, in part, accomplished by resolving dependency specifiers defined in `package.json` manifests for dependencies with a specific name, and nesting folders to resolve conflicting dependencies. When multiple dependencies differ only in the case of their name, Arborist's internal data structure saw them as separate items that could coexist within the same level in the `node_modules` hierarchy. However, on case-insensitive file systems (such as macOS and Windows), this is not the case. Combined with a symlink dependency such as `file:/some/path`, this allowed an attacker to create a situation in which arbitrary contents could be written to any location on the filesystem. For example, a package `pwn-a` could define a dependency in their `package.json` file such as `"foo": "file:/some/path"`. Another package, `pwn-b` could define a dependency such as `FOO: "file:foo.tgz"`. On case-insensitive file systems, if `pwn-a` was installed, and then `pwn-b` was installed afterwards, the contents of `foo.tgz` would be written to `/some/path`, and any existing contents of `/some/path` would be removed. Anyone using npm v7.20.6 or earlier on a case-insensitive filesystem is potentially affected. This is patched in @npmcli/arborist 2.8.2 which is included in npm v7.20.7 and above.


Severity



CVSS 3.x Severity and Metrics:

NIST CVSS score
NIST: NVD
Base Score:  7.8 HIGH
Vector:  CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Nist CVSS score does not match with CNA score
CNA:  GitHub, Inc.
Base Score:  8.2 HIGH
Vector:  CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N


NVD Analysts use publicly available information to associate vector strings and CVSS scores. We also display any CVSS information provided within the CVE List from the CNA.

Note: It is possible that the NVD CVSS may not match that of the CNA. The most common reason for this is that publicly available information does not provide sufficient detail or that information simply was not available at the time the CVSS vector string was assigned.

References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools

By selecting these links, you will be leaving NIST webspace. We have provided these links to other web sites because they may have information that would be of interest to you. No inferences should be drawn on account of other sites being referenced, or not, from this page. There may be other web sites that are more appropriate for your purpose. NIST does not necessarily endorse the views expressed, or concur with the facts presented on these sites. Further, NIST does not endorse any commercial products that may be mentioned on these sites. Please address comments about this page to nvd@nist.gov.

Hyperlink Resource
https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/pdf/ssa-389290.pdf Patch  Third Party Advisory 
https://github.com/npm/arborist/security/advisories/GHSA-2h3h-q99f-3fhc Mitigation  Third Party Advisory 
https://www.npmjs.com/package/%40npmcli/arborist
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuoct2021.html Patch  Third Party Advisory 

Weakness Enumeration

CWE-ID CWE Name Source
CWE-178 Improper Handling of Case Sensitivity cwe source acceptance level NIST  
CWE-61 UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following Provider acceptance level GitHub, Inc.  

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Change History

8 change records found show changes

Quick Info

CVE Dictionary Entry:
CVE-2021-39134
NVD Published Date:
08/31/2021
NVD Last Modified:
11/06/2023
Source:
GitHub, Inc.