CVE-2018-16480: Public Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-649c-x44h-4q7v
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CVSS 6.1
CWE-79
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2018-16480 is a MODERATE (CVSS 6.1) cross-site scripting vulnerability (CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')) affecting Public libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves tnantoka/public xss vulnerability. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.1.4.

CVE-2018-16480 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2018-16480
GHSA Identifier GHSA-649c-x44h-4q7v
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 6.1
CWE Classification CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
Affected Product Public
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 6.1

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N).

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

How to Fix CVE-2018-16480

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

public fixed: 0.1.4 
npm install public@0.1.4
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 public

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2018-16480, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls public

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Public in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.1.4), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls public 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-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting'), where the product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes user-controllable input before it is placed in output that is used as a web page that is served to other users. In Public, 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

A XSS vulnerability was found in module public <0.1.4 that allows malicious Javascript code to run in the browser, due to the absence of sanitization of the file/folder names before rendering.

CVE-2018-16480 Affected Public Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.1.4
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
public
npm/public
npm
< 0.1.4
0.1.4

References

NVD — CVE-2018-16480 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-16480
hackerone.com/reports/329950 WEB
https://hackerone.com/reports/329950
GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-649c-x44h-4q7v
www.npmjs.com/package/public WEB
https://www.npmjs.com/package/public

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2018-16480?
CVE-2018-16480 is a security vulnerability in Public involving Tnantoka/public XSS Vulnerability under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting').
Which Public versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.1.4 across affected packages: public.
What version fixes CVE-2018-16480?
Upgrading to 0.1.4 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is public affected?
Yes, public is affected in releases prior to 0.1.4. Upgrade your dependency to 0.1.4 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2018-16480?
CVE-2018-16480 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.1 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2018-16480?
CVE-2018-16480 is classified under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') (The product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes user-controllable input before it is placed in output that is used as a web page that is served to other users.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2018-16480?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls public'. 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-649c-x44h-4q7v",
  "modified" : "2023-09-11T18:35:47Z",
  "published" : "2019-02-07T18:14:37Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2018-16480" ],
  "summary" : "Tnantoka/public XSS Vulnerability",
  "details" : "A XSS vulnerability was found in module public <0.1.4 that allows malicious Javascript code to run in the browser, due to the absence of sanitization of the file/folder names before rendering.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "public"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.1.4"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-16480"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://hackerone.com/reports/329950"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-649c-x44h-4q7v"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.npmjs.com/package/public"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-79" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-06-16T21:17:59Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}