#VU63842 Insufficient verification of data authenticity in CLI - CVE-2021-43616

Vulnerability identifier: #VU63842

Vulnerability risk: High

CVSSv4.0: 8.1 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Amber]

CVE-ID: CVE-2021-43616

CWE-ID: CWE-345

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
CLI
Web applications / Modules and components for CMS

Vendor: npm Inc.

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the system.

The vulnerability exists due to insufficient verification of data authenticity in the npm ci command. A remote attacker can exploit the vulnerability to install malware that was supposed to have been blocked by an exact version match requirement in package-lock.json.

Mitigation
Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

CLI: 7.0.0 - 8.4.0

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External links
https://docs.npmjs.com/cli/v7/commands/npm-ci
https://github.com/npm/cli/issues/2701
https://github.com/icatalina/CVE-2021-43616
https://medium.com/cider-sec/this-time-we-were-lucky-85c0dcac94a0
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20211210-0002/
https://github.com/npm/cli/commit/457e0ae61bbc55846f5af44afa4066921923490f
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/NXNVFKOF5ZYH5NIRWHKN6O6UBCHDV6FE/

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Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote non-authenticated attacker via the Internet.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.