CVE-2016-10589: Selenium binaries Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-h4mc-r4f4-hcf4
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CVSS 8.1
CWE-311
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2016-10589 is a HIGH (CVSS 8.1) remote code execution vulnerability (CWE-311: Missing Encryption of Sensitive Data) affecting Selenium binaries libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves selenium-binaries downloads resources over http. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.15.0.

CVE-2016-10589 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2016-10589
GHSA Identifier GHSA-h4mc-r4f4-hcf4
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 8.1
CWE Classification CWE-311: Missing Encryption of Sensitive Data
Affected Product Selenium binaries
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 8.1

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

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

How to Fix CVE-2016-10589

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

selenium-binaries fixed: 0.15.0 
npm install selenium-binaries@0.15.0
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 selenium-binaries

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2016-10589, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls selenium-binaries

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Selenium binaries in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.15.0), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls selenium-binaries 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-311: Missing Encryption of Sensitive Data, where the product does not encrypt sensitive or critical information before storage or transmission. In Selenium binaries, 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 `selenium-binaries` prior to 0.15.0 insecurely download an executable over an unencrypted HTTP connection. In scenarios where an attacker has a privileged network position, it is possible to intercept the response and replace the executable with a malicious one, resulting in code execution on the system running `selenium-binaries`. ## Recommendation A fix for this vulnerability is available on the `master` branch of the repository as part of version 0.15.0. Another mitigation currently available is to use an alternate package, such as [selenium-webdriver](https://www.npmjs.com/package/selenium-webdriver), the official selenium bindings for node.js.

CVE-2016-10589 Affected Selenium binaries Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.15.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
selenium-binaries
npm/selenium-binaries
npm
< 0.15.0
0.15.0

References

NVD — CVE-2016-10589 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-10589
Selenium binaries Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/spunjs/selenium-binaries/pull/33
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/spunjs/selenium-binaries/commit/be37e82a3c43a4f1679d66cf9467085ec9994c47
Selenium binaries Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/spunjs/selenium-binaries
www.huntr.dev/bounties/1-npm-sele... WEB
https://www.huntr.dev/bounties/1-npm-selenium-binaries
www.npmjs.com/advisories/175 WEB
https://www.npmjs.com/advisories/175

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2016-10589?
CVE-2016-10589 is a security vulnerability in Selenium binaries involving selenium-binaries downloads resources over HTTP under CWE-311: Missing Encryption of Sensitive Data.
Which Selenium binaries versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.15.0 across affected packages: selenium-binaries.
What version fixes CVE-2016-10589?
Upgrading to 0.15.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is selenium-binaries affected?
Yes, selenium-binaries is affected in releases prior to 0.15.0. Upgrade your dependency to 0.15.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2016-10589?
CVE-2016-10589 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.1 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2016-10589?
CVE-2016-10589 is classified under CWE-311: Missing Encryption of Sensitive Data (The product does not encrypt sensitive or critical information before storage or transmission.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2016-10589?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls selenium-binaries'. 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-h4mc-r4f4-hcf4",
  "modified" : "2022-08-03T21:15:02Z",
  "published" : "2019-02-18T23:34:37Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2016-10589" ],
  "summary" : "selenium-binaries downloads resources over HTTP",
  "details" : "Versions of `selenium-binaries` prior to 0.15.0 insecurely download an executable over an unencrypted HTTP connection. \n\nIn scenarios where an attacker has a privileged network position, it is possible to intercept the response and replace the executable with a malicious one, resulting in code execution on the system running `selenium-binaries`.\n\n\n## Recommendation\n\nA fix for this vulnerability is available on the `master` branch of the repository as part of version 0.15.0.\n\nAnother mitigation currently available is to use an alternate package, such as [selenium-webdriver](https://www.npmjs.com/package/selenium-webdriver), the official selenium bindings for node.js. ",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "selenium-binaries"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.15.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-10589"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/spunjs/selenium-binaries/pull/33"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/spunjs/selenium-binaries/commit/be37e82a3c43a4f1679d66cf9467085ec9994c47"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/spunjs/selenium-binaries"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.huntr.dev/bounties/1-npm-selenium-binaries"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.npmjs.com/advisories/175"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-311" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-06-16T21:38:48Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}