#VU79332 Permissions, Privileges, and Access Controls in Node.js - CVE-2023-32002

Vulnerability identifier: #VU79332

Vulnerability risk: Medium

CVSSv4.0: 6.9 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Green]

CVE-ID: CVE-2023-32002

CWE-ID: CWE-264

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
Node.js
Server applications / Web servers

Vendor: Node.js Foundation

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to bypass implemented security restrictions.

The vulnerability exists due to improperly imposed security restrictions for the Module._load() method. A remote attacker can bypass the policy mechanism and include modules outside of the policy.json definition for a given module.

Mitigation
Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Node.js: 16.0.0, 16.1.0 - 16.19.1, 16.2.0 - 16.20.1, 16.3.0, 16.4.0 - 16.4.2, 16.5.0, 16.6.0 - 16.6.2, 16.7.0, 16.8.0, 16.9.0 - 16.9.1, 17.0.0 - 17.0.1, 17.1.0, 17.2.0, 17.3.0 - 17.3.1, 17.4.0, 17.5.0, 17.6.0, 17.7.0 - 17.7.2, 17.8.0, 17.9.0 - 17.9.1, 18.0.0, 18.1.0 - 18.17.0, 18.2.0, 18.3.0, 18.4.0, 18.5.0, 18.6.0, 18.7.0, 18.8.0, 18.9.0, 18.9.1, 19.0.0, 19.0.1, 19.1.0, 19.2.0, 19.3.0, 19.4.0, 19.5.0, 19.6.0, 19.6.1, 19.7.0, 19.8.0, 19.8.1, 19.9.0, 20.0.0, 20.1.0, 20.2.0, 20.3.0, 20.3.1, 20.4.0, 20.5.0

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External links
https://nodejs.org/en/blog/vulnerability/august-2023-security-releases
https://github.com/nodejs/node/releases/tag/v16.20.2
https://github.com/nodejs/node/releases/tag/v18.17.1
https://github.com/nodejs/node/releases/tag/v20.5.1

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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.