CVE-2017-16174: Whispercast Path Traversal Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-m874-69ww-w7jq
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-22
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2017-16174 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')) affecting Whispercast libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves directory traversal in whispercast. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2017-16174 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2017-16174
GHSA Identifier GHSA-m874-69ww-w7jq
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
Affected Product Whispercast
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.5

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:H/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 High (C:H)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2017-16174

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

whispercast fixed: Latest secure release 
npm install whispercast@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 whispercast

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2017-16174, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls whispercast

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Whispercast 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 whispercast 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-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal'), where the product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory. In Whispercast, 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

Affected versions of `whispercast` resolve relative file paths, resulting in a directory traversal vulnerability. A malicious actor can use this vulnerability to access files outside of the intended directory root, which may result in the disclosure of private files on the vulnerable system. **Example request:** ```http GET /../../../../../../../../../../etc/passwd HTTP/1.1 host:foo ``` ## Recommendation No patch is available for this vulnerability. It is recommended that the package is only used for local development, and if the functionality is needed for production, a different package is used instead.

CVE-2017-16174 Affected Whispercast Versions

1 component(s)
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
whispercast
npm/whispercast
npm
≤ 0.1.0

References

NVD — CVE-2017-16174 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-16174
Whispercast Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/JacksonGL/NPM-Vuln-PoC/blob/master/directory-traversal/whispercast
GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-m874-69ww-w7jq
www.npmjs.com/advisories/466 WEB
https://www.npmjs.com/advisories/466

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2017-16174?
CVE-2017-16174 is a security vulnerability in Whispercast involving Directory Traversal in whispercast under CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal').
Which Whispercast versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches across affected packages: whispercast.
What version fixes CVE-2017-16174?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is whispercast affected?
Yes, whispercast 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-2017-16174?
CVE-2017-16174 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2017-16174?
CVE-2017-16174 is classified under CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') (The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2017-16174?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls whispercast'. 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-m874-69ww-w7jq",
  "modified" : "2023-09-12T19:34:57Z",
  "published" : "2018-07-23T20:45:01Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2017-16174" ],
  "summary" : "Directory Traversal in whispercast",
  "details" : "Affected versions of `whispercast` resolve relative file paths, resulting in a directory traversal vulnerability. A malicious actor can use this vulnerability to access files outside of the intended directory root, which may result in the disclosure of private files on the vulnerable system.\n\n**Example request:**\n```http\nGET /../../../../../../../../../../etc/passwd HTTP/1.1\nhost:foo\n```\n\n\n## Recommendation\n\nNo patch is available for this vulnerability.\n\nIt is recommended that the package is only used for local development, and if the functionality is needed for production, a different package is used instead.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "whispercast"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "last_affected" : "0.1.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-16174"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/JacksonGL/NPM-Vuln-PoC/blob/master/directory-traversal/whispercast"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-m874-69ww-w7jq"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.npmjs.com/advisories/466"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-22" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-06-16T21:45:24Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}