CVE-2021-23356: Kill process by name Code Injection Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-qc65-cgvr-93p6
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CVSS 9.8
CWE-77
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-23356 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) code injection vulnerability (CWE-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection')) affecting Kill process by name libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves code injection in kill-process-by-name. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2021-23356 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-23356
GHSA Identifier GHSA-qc65-cgvr-93p6
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection')
Affected Product Kill process by name
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 9.8

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:H/I:H/A:H).

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 High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2021-23356

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

kill-process-by-name fixed: Latest secure release 
npm install kill-process-by-name@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 kill-process-by-name

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2021-23356, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls kill-process-by-name

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Kill process by name 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 kill-process-by-name 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 Kill process by name, 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 kill-process-by-name. 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 in the index.js file.

CVE-2021-23356 Affected Kill process by name Versions

1 component(s)
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
kill-process-by-name
npm/kill-process-by-name
npm
≤ 1.0.5

References

NVD — CVE-2021-23356 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-23356
snyk.io/vuln/snyk-js-killpr... WEB
https://snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-JS-KILLPROCESSBYNAME-1078534

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-23356?
CVE-2021-23356 is a security vulnerability in Kill process by name involving Code injection in kill-process-by-name under CWE-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection').
Which Kill process by name versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches across affected packages: kill-process-by-name.
What version fixes CVE-2021-23356?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is kill-process-by-name affected?
Yes, kill-process-by-name 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-2021-23356?
CVE-2021-23356 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2021-23356?
CVE-2021-23356 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-2021-23356?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls kill-process-by-name'. 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-qc65-cgvr-93p6",
  "modified" : "2022-07-05T18:01:04Z",
  "published" : "2021-03-19T21:19:18Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-23356" ],
  "summary" : "Code injection in kill-process-by-name",
  "details" : "This affects all versions of package kill-process-by-name. 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 in the index.js file.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "kill-process-by-name"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "last_affected" : "1.0.5"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-23356"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-JS-KILLPROCESSBYNAME-1078534"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-77" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-03-16T22:24:54Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2021-03-15T17:15:00Z"
  }
}