CVE-2021-23381: Killing Command Injection Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-cq77-8jpx-892g
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CVSS 7.3
CWE-77
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-23381 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.3) command injection vulnerability (CWE-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection')) affecting Killing libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves command injection in killing. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2021-23381 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-23381
GHSA Identifier GHSA-cq77-8jpx-892g
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.3
CWE Classification CWE-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection')
Affected Product Killing
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.3

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:L/A:L).

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 Low (I:L)
Availability Low (A:L)

How to Fix CVE-2021-23381

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

killing fixed: Latest secure release 
npm install killing@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 killing

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2021-23381, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls killing

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Killing 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 killing 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-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection'), where the product constructs all or part of a command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended command when it is sent to a downstream component. In Killing, 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

This affects all versions of package killing up to and including 1.0.6. If attacker-controlled user input is given, it is possible for an attacker to execute arbitrary commands. This is due to use of the child_process exec function without input sanitization.

CVE-2021-23381 Affected Killing Versions

1 component(s)
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
killing
npm/killing
npm
≤ 1.0.6

References

NVD — CVE-2021-23381 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-23381
Killing Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/xudafeng/killing
Killing Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/xudafeng/killing/blob/672ed164ccdd10c0a8fb93c5c6d2456f1dfab781/lib/killing.js%23L62
snyk.io/vuln/snyk-js-killin... WEB
https://snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-JS-KILLING-1078532
www.npmjs.com/package/killing WEB
https://www.npmjs.com/package/killing

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-23381?
CVE-2021-23381 is a security vulnerability in Killing involving Command Injection in killing under CWE-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection').
Which Killing versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches across affected packages: killing.
What version fixes CVE-2021-23381?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is killing affected?
Yes, killing 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-2021-23381?
CVE-2021-23381 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.3 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2021-23381?
CVE-2021-23381 is classified under CWE-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection') (The product constructs all or part of a command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended command when it is sent to a downstream component.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2021-23381?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls killing'. 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-cq77-8jpx-892g",
  "modified" : "2022-07-05T17:39:04Z",
  "published" : "2021-05-06T15:53:32Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-23381" ],
  "summary" : "Command Injection in killing",
  "details" : "This affects all versions of package killing up to and including 1.0.6. If attacker-controlled user input is given, it is possible for an attacker to execute arbitrary commands. This is due to use of the child_process exec function without input sanitization.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "killing"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "last_affected" : "1.0.6"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-23381"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/xudafeng/killing"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/xudafeng/killing/blob/672ed164ccdd10c0a8fb93c5c6d2456f1dfab781/lib/killing.js%23L62"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-JS-KILLING-1078532"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.npmjs.com/package/killing"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-77" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-04-19T21:07:27Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2021-04-18T19:15:00Z"
  }
}