CVE-2018-16472: Cached path relative Prototype Pollution Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-hc9w-4p87-j549
Share
CVSS 7.5
CWE-400 CWE-20
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2018-16472 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) prototype pollution vulnerability (CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption) affecting Cached path relative libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves prototype pollution in cached-path-relative. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.0.2.

CVE-2018-16472 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2018-16472
GHSA Identifier GHSA-hc9w-4p87-j549
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
Affected Product Cached path relative
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:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 None (C:N)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2018-16472

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

cached-path-relative fixed: 1.0.2 
npm install cached-path-relative@1.0.2
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 cached-path-relative

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2018-16472, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls cached-path-relative

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Cached path relative in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.0.2), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls cached-path-relative 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-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption, where the product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource. In Cached path relative, 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

Version of `cached-path-relative` before 1.0.2 are vulnerable to prototype pollution. ## Recommendation Update to version 1.0.2 or later.

CVE-2018-16472 Affected Cached path relative Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.0.2
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
cached-path-relative
npm/cached-path-relative
npm
< 1.0.2
1.0.2

References

NVD — CVE-2018-16472 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-16472
Cached path relative Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/ashaffer/cached-path-relative/issues/3
hackerone.com/reports/390847 WEB
https://hackerone.com/reports/390847
GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-hc9w-4p87-j549
Cached path relative Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/nodejs/security-wg/blob/master/vuln/npm/480.json
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce... WEB
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2022/12/msg00006.html
www.npmjs.com/advisories/739 WEB
https://www.npmjs.com/advisories/739

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2018-16472?
CVE-2018-16472 is a security vulnerability in Cached path relative involving Prototype Pollution in cached-path-relative under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption.
Which Cached path relative versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.0.2 across affected packages: cached-path-relative.
What version fixes CVE-2018-16472?
Upgrading to 1.0.2 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is cached-path-relative affected?
Yes, cached-path-relative is affected in releases prior to 1.0.2. Upgrade your dependency to 1.0.2 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2018-16472?
CVE-2018-16472 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2018-16472?
CVE-2018-16472 is classified under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption (The product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2018-16472?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls cached-path-relative'. 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-hc9w-4p87-j549",
  "modified" : "2023-02-04T00:15:03Z",
  "published" : "2018-11-07T20:46:25Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2018-16472" ],
  "summary" : "Prototype Pollution in cached-path-relative",
  "details" : "Version of `cached-path-relative` before 1.0.2 are vulnerable to prototype pollution.\n\n\n## Recommendation\n\nUpdate to version 1.0.2 or later.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "cached-path-relative"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.0.2"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-16472"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/ashaffer/cached-path-relative/issues/3"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://hackerone.com/reports/390847"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-hc9w-4p87-j549"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/nodejs/security-wg/blob/master/vuln/npm/480.json"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2022/12/msg00006.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.npmjs.com/advisories/739"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-20", "CWE-400" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-06-16T21:39:57Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2018-11-06T19:29:00Z"
  }
}