EUVD-2026-39494
GHSA-hwx4-2j3j-g496
Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Network-delivered malicious package, low complexity, no attacker privileges, but victim must run install (UI:R); symlink replacement is primarily integrity/availability, with only secondary confidentiality (C:L).
Primary rating from Vendor (GitHub_M).
CVSS VectorVendor: GitHub_M
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
pnpm is a package manager. Prior to 10.34.0 and 11.4.0, pnpm allows a transitive dependency alias from registry package metadata to contain path traversal segments. During install, pnpm later uses that alias as a filesystem path when linking dependency nodes. As a result, a registry package can cause pnpm install --ignore-scripts to replace paths in the current project with symlinks to attacker-controlled dependency package directories. This vulnerability is fixed in 10.34.0 and 11.4.0.
AnalysisAI
Path traversal in pnpm before 10.34.0 and 11.4.0 lets a malicious registry package smuggle '../' segments inside a transitive dependency alias, which pnpm then trusts as a filesystem path while linking dependency nodes. During a normal install - even with pnpm install --ignore-scripts - this allows a published package to replace paths inside the victim's project with symlinks pointing at attacker-controlled dependency directories, corrupting project integrity and enabling downstream code execution. No public exploit is identified at time of analysis; risk is amplified because the bug fires without lifecycle scripts, defeating the --ignore-scripts safety habit.
Technical ContextAI
pnpm is a content-addressable Node.js package manager that builds a nested node_modules layout by symlinking packages from a global store into per-project dependency nodes. The flaw is a CWE-23 (relative path traversal): the dependency 'alias' field, sourced from untrusted registry package metadata for transitive dependencies, is not sanitized before being concatenated into a link target path. Because pnpm reuses that alias as the on-disk location when materializing the dependency graph, embedded ../ sequences escape the intended node_modules subtree and let the resolver write symlinks to arbitrary locations relative to the project root. The affected component is pnpm itself (cpe:2.3:a:pnpm:pnpm:*), and the trigger lives in the link/resolution phase rather than in lifecycle (install/postinstall) scripts.
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch: upgrade pnpm to 10.34.0 (for the 10.x line) or 11.4.0 (for the 11.x line) or later, per advisory GHSA-hwx4-2j3j-g496 (https://github.com/pnpm/pnpm/security/advisories/GHSA-hwx4-2j3j-g496); pin the upgraded version in CI runners, Corepack/packageManager fields, and developer environments so older binaries cannot silently run. Because the flaw triggers even under --ignore-scripts, do not rely on that flag as a control. Until upgrade is complete, reduce exposure by installing only from a vetted private registry or lockfile-pinned dependencies and avoiding fresh resolution of new transitive packages (trade-off: blocks legitimate dependency updates), running installs in disposable/sandboxed CI containers with no write access to sensitive host paths (trade-off: added CI complexity), and reviewing lockfile diffs for unexpected alias values or symlink targets before merging (trade-off: manual review overhead). These limit blast radius but are not equivalent to the patch.
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Same weakness CWE-23 – Relative Path Traversal
View allSame technique Path Traversal
View allVendor StatusVendor
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External POC / Exploit Code
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