CVE-2014-8883: Nhouston Path Traversal Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-44g9-w23c-5rw7
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CVSS 5.3
CWE-23
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2014-8883 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.3) path traversal vulnerability (CWE-23: Relative Path Traversal) affecting Nhouston libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves directory traversal in nhouston. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2014-8883 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2014-8883
GHSA Identifier GHSA-44g9-w23c-5rw7
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.3
CWE Classification CWE-23: Relative Path Traversal
Affected Product Nhouston
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 5.3

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality Low (C:L)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2014-8883

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Nhouston dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

nhouston fixed: Latest secure release 
npm install nhouston@Latest secure release
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

npm ls nhouston

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2014-8883, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls nhouston

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Nhouston in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than the patched release), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls nhouston command inspects dependencies declared in your package.json and lockfile; it does not perform automated runtime dynamic scanning.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-23: Relative Path Traversal, where the product uses external input to construct a pathname that should be within a restricted directory, but it does not properly neutralize sequences such as ".." that can resolve to a location that is outside of that directory. In Nhouston, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

All versions of the static file server module nhouston are vulnerable to directory traversal. An attacker can provide input such as `../` to read files outside of the served directory. ## Recommendation It is recommended that a different module be used, as we have been unable to reacher the maintainer of this module. We will continue to reach out to them, and if an update becomes available that fixes the issue, we will update this advisory accordingly.

CVE-2014-8883 Affected Nhouston Versions

1 component(s)
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
nhouston
npm/nhouston
npm
≥ 0.0.0

References

NVD — CVE-2014-8883 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-8883
snyk.io/vuln/npm:nhouston:2... WEB
https://snyk.io/vuln/npm:nhouston:20141114
www.npmjs.com/advisories/25 WEB
https://www.npmjs.com/advisories/25
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/directory_trav... WEB
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directory_traversal_attack

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2014-8883?
CVE-2014-8883 is a security vulnerability in Nhouston involving Directory Traversal in nhouston under CWE-23: Relative Path Traversal.
Which Nhouston versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches across affected packages: nhouston.
What version fixes CVE-2014-8883?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is nhouston affected?
Yes, nhouston is affected in releases prior to Latest secure release. Upgrade your dependency to Latest secure release or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2014-8883?
CVE-2014-8883 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.3 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2014-8883?
CVE-2014-8883 is classified under CWE-23: Relative Path Traversal (The product uses external input to construct a pathname that should be within a restricted directory, but it does not properly neutralize sequences such as ".." that can resolve to a location that is outside of that directory.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2014-8883?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls nhouston'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-44g9-w23c-5rw7",
  "modified" : "2021-09-23T20:57:48Z",
  "published" : "2020-08-31T22:53:54Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2014-8883" ],
  "summary" : "Directory Traversal in nhouston",
  "details" : "All versions of the static file server module nhouston are vulnerable to directory traversal. An attacker can provide input such as `../` to read files outside of the served directory.\n\n\n## Recommendation\n\nIt is recommended that a different module be used, as we have been unable to reacher the maintainer of this module. We will continue to reach out to them, and if an update becomes available that fixes the issue, we will update this advisory accordingly.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "nhouston"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0.0.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-8883"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://snyk.io/vuln/npm:nhouston:20141114"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.npmjs.com/advisories/25"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directory_traversal_attack"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-23" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-08-31T18:08:17Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}