CVE-2016-1202: Electron High Severity Vulnerability That Affects Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-gvcj-pfq2-wxj7
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CVSS 7.8
CWE-426
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2016-1202 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.8) high severity vulnerability that affects vulnerability (CWE-426: Untrusted Search Path) affecting Electron libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves high severity vulnerability that affects electron. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.33.5.

CVE-2016-1202 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2016-1202
GHSA Identifier GHSA-gvcj-pfq2-wxj7
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.8
CWE Classification CWE-426: Untrusted Search Path
Affected Product Electron
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.8

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

Attack Vector Local (AV:L)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required Low (PR:L)
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-2016-1202

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

electron fixed: 0.33.5 
npm install electron@0.33.5
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 electron

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2016-1202, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls electron

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Electron in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.33.5), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls electron 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-426: Untrusted Search Path, where the product searches for critical resources using an externally-supplied search path that can point to resources that are not under the product's direct control. In Electron, 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

Untrusted search path vulnerability in Atom Electron before 0.33.5 allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse Node.js module in a parent directory of a directory named on a require line.

CVE-2016-1202 Affected Electron Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.33.5
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
electron
npm/electron
npm
< 0.33.5
0.33.5

References

NVD — CVE-2016-1202 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-1202
Electron Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/electron/electron/pull/2976
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/electron/electron/commit/9a2e2b365d061ec10cd861391fd5b1344af7194d
GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-gvcj-pfq2-wxj7
Electron Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/electron/electron
jvn.jp/en/jp/jvn00324715/i... WEB
http://jvn.jp/en/jp/JVN00324715/index.html
jvndb.jvn.jp/jvndb/jvndb-2016-00... WEB
http://jvndb.jvn.jp/jvndb/JVNDB-2016-000054

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2016-1202?
CVE-2016-1202 is a security vulnerability in Electron involving High severity vulnerability that affects electron under CWE-426: Untrusted Search Path.
Which Electron versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.33.5 across affected packages: electron.
What version fixes CVE-2016-1202?
Upgrading to 0.33.5 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is electron affected?
Yes, electron is affected in releases prior to 0.33.5. Upgrade your dependency to 0.33.5 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2016-1202?
CVE-2016-1202 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2016-1202?
CVE-2016-1202 is classified under CWE-426: Untrusted Search Path (The product searches for critical resources using an externally-supplied search path that can point to resources that are not under the product's direct control.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2016-1202?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls electron'. 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-gvcj-pfq2-wxj7",
  "modified" : "2021-09-13T12:46:47Z",
  "published" : "2017-10-24T18:33:35Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2016-1202" ],
  "summary" : "High severity vulnerability that affects electron",
  "details" : "Untrusted search path vulnerability in Atom Electron before 0.33.5 allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse Node.js module in a parent directory of a directory named on a require line.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "electron"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.33.5"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-1202"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/electron/electron/pull/2976"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/electron/electron/commit/9a2e2b365d061ec10cd861391fd5b1344af7194d"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-gvcj-pfq2-wxj7"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/electron/electron"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://jvn.jp/en/jp/JVN00324715/index.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://jvndb.jvn.jp/jvndb/JVNDB-2016-000054"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-426" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-06-16T21:38:05Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}