CVE-2023-23918

Node.js: Permissions policies can be bypassed via process.mainModule

Severity Score

7.5

*CVSS v3.1

Exploit Likelihood

*EPSS

Affected Versions

*CPE

Public Exploits

*Multiple Sources

Exploited in Wild

*KEV

Decision

Attend

*SSVC

Descriptions

A privilege escalation vulnerability exists in Node.js <19.6.1, <18.14.1, <16.19.1 and <14.21.3 that made it possible to bypass the experimental Permissions (https://nodejs.org/api/permissions.html) feature in Node.js and access non authorized modules by using process.mainModule.require(). This only affects users who had enabled the experimental permissions option with --experimental-policy.

Node.js is a software development platform for building fast and scalable network applications in the JavaScript programming language. Issues addressed include HTTP request smuggling, buffer overflow, bypass, and denial of service vulnerabilities.

*Credits: N/A

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

None

Availability

None

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Authentication

None

Confidentiality

Complete

Integrity

None

Availability

None

* Common Vulnerability Scoring System

SSVC

Decision:Attend

Exploitation

None

Automatable

Yes

Tech. Impact

Partial

* Organization's Worst-case Scenario

Timeline

2023-01-19 CVE Reserved
2023-02-23 CVE Published
2025-05-08 CVE Updated
2025-05-21 EPSS Updated
---------- Exploited in Wild
---------- KEV Due Date
---------- First Exploit

CWE

CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization

CAPEC

References (4)

URL	Tag	Source
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20230316-0008

URL	Date	SRC

URL	Date	SRC
https://nodejs.org/en/blog/vulnerability/february-2023-security-releases	2023-03-16

URL	Date	SRC
https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-23918	2023-05-09
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2171935	2023-05-09

Affected Vendors, Products, and Versions

Vendor		Product				Version		Other		Status
Vendor	Product	Version	Other	Status	<-- -->	Vendor	Product	Version	Other	Status
Nodejs Search vendor "Nodejs"		Node.js Search vendor "Nodejs" for product "Node.js"				>= 14.0.0 <= 14.14.0 Search vendor "Nodejs" for product "Node.js" and version " >= 14.0.0 <= 14.14.0"		-		Affected
Nodejs Search vendor "Nodejs"		Node.js Search vendor "Nodejs" for product "Node.js"				>= 14.0.0 < 14.21.3 Search vendor "Nodejs" for product "Node.js" and version " >= 14.0.0 < 14.21.3"		lts		Affected
Nodejs Search vendor "Nodejs"		Node.js Search vendor "Nodejs" for product "Node.js"				>= 16.0.0 <= 16.12.0 Search vendor "Nodejs" for product "Node.js" and version " >= 16.0.0 <= 16.12.0"		-		Affected
Nodejs Search vendor "Nodejs"		Node.js Search vendor "Nodejs" for product "Node.js"				>= 16.0.0 < 16.19.1 Search vendor "Nodejs" for product "Node.js" and version " >= 16.0.0 < 16.19.1"		lts		Affected
Nodejs Search vendor "Nodejs"		Node.js Search vendor "Nodejs" for product "Node.js"				>= 18.0.0 <= 18.11.0 Search vendor "Nodejs" for product "Node.js" and version " >= 18.0.0 <= 18.11.0"		-		Affected
Nodejs Search vendor "Nodejs"		Node.js Search vendor "Nodejs" for product "Node.js"				>= 18.0.0 < 18.14.1 Search vendor "Nodejs" for product "Node.js" and version " >= 18.0.0 < 18.14.1"		lts		Affected
Nodejs Search vendor "Nodejs"		Node.js Search vendor "Nodejs" for product "Node.js"				>= 19.0.0 < 19.6.1 Search vendor "Nodejs" for product "Node.js" and version " >= 19.0.0 < 19.6.1"		-		Affected