CVE-2018-3809: Serve Information Exposure On Case Insensitive Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-686g-3xr3-x4x6
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CVSS 5.3
CWE-200
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2018-3809 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.3) information exposure on case insensitive vulnerability (CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor) affecting Serve libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves information exposure on case insensitive file systems in serve. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 7.0.0.

CVE-2018-3809 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2018-3809
GHSA Identifier GHSA-686g-3xr3-x4x6
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.3
CWE Classification CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor
Affected Product Serve
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:3.0/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-2018-3809

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

serve fixed: 7.0.0 
npm install serve@7.0.0
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 serve

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2018-3809, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls serve

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Serve in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 7.0.0), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls serve 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-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor, where the product exposes sensitive information to an actor that is not explicitly authorized to have access to that information. In Serve, 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

Versions of `serve` before 7.0.0 are vulnerable to information exposure, bypassing the ignore security control, but only on case insensitive file systems. ## Recommendation Update to version 7.0.0 or later.

CVE-2018-3809 Affected Serve Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
7.0.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
serve
npm/serve
npm
< 7.0.0
7.0.0

References

NVD — CVE-2018-3809 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-3809
hackerone.com/reports/330650 WEB
https://hackerone.com/reports/330650
GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-686g-3xr3-x4x6
www.npmjs.com/advisories/672 WEB
https://www.npmjs.com/advisories/672

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2018-3809?
CVE-2018-3809 is a security vulnerability in Serve involving Information Exposure on Case Insensitive File Systems in serve under CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor.
Which Serve versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 7.0.0 across affected packages: serve.
What version fixes CVE-2018-3809?
Upgrading to 7.0.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is serve affected?
Yes, serve is affected in releases prior to 7.0.0. Upgrade your dependency to 7.0.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2018-3809?
CVE-2018-3809 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.3 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2018-3809?
CVE-2018-3809 is classified under CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor (The product exposes sensitive information to an actor that is not explicitly authorized to have access to that information.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2018-3809?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls serve'. 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-686g-3xr3-x4x6",
  "modified" : "2021-09-01T22:46:06Z",
  "published" : "2018-07-18T18:33:15Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2018-3809" ],
  "summary" : "Information Exposure on Case Insensitive File Systems in serve",
  "details" : "Versions of `serve` before 7.0.0 are vulnerable to information exposure, bypassing the ignore security control, but only on case insensitive file systems.\n\n\n\n## Recommendation\n\nUpdate to version 7.0.0 or later.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "serve"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "7.0.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-3809"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://hackerone.com/reports/330650"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-686g-3xr3-x4x6"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.npmjs.com/advisories/672"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-200" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-06-16T21:18:32Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}