CVE-2018-3772: Whereis Command Injection Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-wjr4-2jgw-hmv8
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CVSS 9.8
CWE-77
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2018-3772 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) command injection vulnerability (CWE-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection')) affecting Whereis libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves command injection in whereis. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.4.1.

CVE-2018-3772 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2018-3772
GHSA Identifier GHSA-wjr4-2jgw-hmv8
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 Whereis
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:3.0/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-2018-3772

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

whereis fixed: 0.4.1 
npm install whereis@0.4.1
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 whereis

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2018-3772, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls whereis

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Whereis in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.4.1), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls whereis 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 Whereis, 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 `whereis` before 0.4.1 are vulnerable to command injection if untrusted user input is passed into `whereis`. ## Recommendation Update to version 0.4.1 or later.

CVE-2018-3772 Affected Whereis Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.4.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
whereis
npm/whereis
npm
< 0.4.1
0.4.1

References

NVD — CVE-2018-3772 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-3772
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/vvo/node-whereis/commit/0f64e3780235004fb6e43bfd153ea3e0e210ee2b
hackerone.com/reports/319476 WEB
https://hackerone.com/reports/319476
GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-wjr4-2jgw-hmv8
www.npmjs.com/advisories/604 WEB
https://www.npmjs.com/advisories/604

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2018-3772?
CVE-2018-3772 is a security vulnerability in Whereis involving Command Injection in whereis under CWE-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection').
Which Whereis versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.4.1 across affected packages: whereis.
What version fixes CVE-2018-3772?
Upgrading to 0.4.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is whereis affected?
Yes, whereis is affected in releases prior to 0.4.1. Upgrade your dependency to 0.4.1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2018-3772?
CVE-2018-3772 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2018-3772?
CVE-2018-3772 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-2018-3772?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls whereis'. 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-wjr4-2jgw-hmv8",
  "modified" : "2023-09-12T21:12:31Z",
  "published" : "2018-07-31T18:28:53Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2018-3772" ],
  "summary" : "Command Injection in whereis",
  "details" : "Versions of `whereis` before 0.4.1 are vulnerable to command injection if untrusted user input is passed into `whereis`.\n\n\n## Recommendation\n\nUpdate to version 0.4.1 or later.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "whereis"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.4.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-3772"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/vvo/node-whereis/commit/0f64e3780235004fb6e43bfd153ea3e0e210ee2b"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://hackerone.com/reports/319476"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-wjr4-2jgw-hmv8"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.npmjs.com/advisories/604"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-77" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-06-16T22:00:43Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}