CVE-2020-7781: Connection tester Command Injection Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-w5mp-8p8w-mhh8
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CVSS 9.8
CWE-78
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2020-7781 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) command injection vulnerability (CWE-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')) affecting Connection tester libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves command injection in connection-tester. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.2.1.

CVE-2020-7781 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2020-7781
GHSA Identifier GHSA-w5mp-8p8w-mhh8
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')
Affected Product Connection tester
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-2020-7781

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

connection-tester fixed: 0.2.1 
npm install connection-tester@0.2.1
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 connection-tester

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2020-7781, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls connection-tester

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Connection tester in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.2.1), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls connection-tester 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-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection'), where the product constructs all or part of an os command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended os command when it is sent to a downstream component. In Connection tester, 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 the package connection-tester before 0.2.1. The injection point is located in line 15 in index.js. Affected versions of this package are vulnerable to Command Injection

CVE-2020-7781 Affected Connection tester Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.2.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
connection-tester
npm/connection-tester
npm
< 0.2.1
0.2.1

References

NVD — CVE-2020-7781 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-7781
Connection tester Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/skoranga/node-connection-tester/pull/10
snyk.io/vuln/snyk-js-connec... WEB
https://snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-JS-CONNECTIONTESTER-1048337

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-7781?
CVE-2020-7781 is a security vulnerability in Connection tester involving Command injection in connection-tester under CWE-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection').
Which Connection tester versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.2.1 across affected packages: connection-tester.
What version fixes CVE-2020-7781?
Upgrading to 0.2.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is connection-tester affected?
Yes, connection-tester is affected in releases prior to 0.2.1. Upgrade your dependency to 0.2.1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-7781?
CVE-2020-7781 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-2020-7781?
CVE-2020-7781 is classified under CWE-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection') (The product constructs all or part of an OS command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended OS command when it is sent to a downstream component.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2020-7781?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls connection-tester'. 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-w5mp-8p8w-mhh8",
  "modified" : "2021-01-07T22:35:45Z",
  "published" : "2020-12-17T21:00:53Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2020-7781" ],
  "summary" : "Command injection in connection-tester",
  "details" : "This affects the package connection-tester before 0.2.1. The injection point is located in line 15 in index.js. Affected versions of this package are vulnerable to Command Injection",
  "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" : "connection-tester"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.2.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-7781"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/skoranga/node-connection-tester/pull/10"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-JS-CONNECTIONTESTER-1048337"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-78" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-12-17T18:31:49Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2020-12-16T18:15:00Z"
  }
}