CVE-2020-12265: Decompress Path Traversal Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-qgfr-5hqp-vrw9
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CVSS 9.8
CWE-59 CWE-22
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2020-12265 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) path traversal vulnerability (CWE-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')) affecting Decompress libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves path traversal in decompress. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 4.2.1.

CVE-2020-12265 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2020-12265
GHSA Identifier GHSA-qgfr-5hqp-vrw9
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')
Affected Product Decompress
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-2020-12265

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

decompress fixed: 4.2.1 
npm install decompress@4.2.1
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 decompress

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2020-12265, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls decompress

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Decompress in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 4.2.1), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls decompress 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-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following'), where the product attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended resource. In Decompress, 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 `decompress` prior to 4.2.1 are vulnerable to Arbitrary File Write. The package fails to prevent extraction of files with relative paths, allowing attackers to write to any folder in the system by including filenames containing`../`. ## Recommendation Upgrade to version 4.2.1 or later.

CVE-2020-12265 Affected Decompress Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
4.2.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
decompress
npm/decompress
npm
< 4.2.1
4.2.1

References

NVD — CVE-2020-12265 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-12265
Decompress Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/kevva/decompress/issues/71
Decompress Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/kevva/decompress/pull/73
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/kevva/decompress/commit/967146e70f48be32ed1a69daa3941d681944d513
Decompress Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/kevva/decompress

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-12265?
CVE-2020-12265 is a security vulnerability in Decompress involving Path Traversal in decompress under CWE-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following').
Which Decompress versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 4.2.1 across affected packages: decompress.
What version fixes CVE-2020-12265?
Upgrading to 4.2.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is decompress affected?
Yes, decompress is affected in releases prior to 4.2.1. Upgrade your dependency to 4.2.1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-12265?
CVE-2020-12265 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-2020-12265?
CVE-2020-12265 is classified under CWE-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following') (The product attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended resource.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2020-12265?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls decompress'. 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-qgfr-5hqp-vrw9",
  "modified" : "2023-04-18T14:49:55Z",
  "published" : "2020-09-03T21:16:27Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2020-12265" ],
  "summary" : "Path Traversal in decompress",
  "details" : "Versions of `decompress` prior to 4.2.1 are vulnerable to Arbitrary File Write. The package fails to prevent extraction of files with relative paths, allowing attackers to write to any folder in the system by including filenames containing`../`.\n\n\n## Recommendation\n\nUpgrade to version 4.2.1 or later.",
  "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" : "decompress"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "4.2.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-12265"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/kevva/decompress/issues/71"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/kevva/decompress/pull/73"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/kevva/decompress/commit/967146e70f48be32ed1a69daa3941d681944d513"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/kevva/decompress"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-22", "CWE-59" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-08-31T18:51:16Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2020-04-26T17:15:00Z"
  }
}