CVE-2020-6836: Hot formula parser Command Injection Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-rc77-xxq6-4mff
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CVSS 9.8
CWE-94
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2020-6836 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) command injection vulnerability (CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')) affecting Hot formula parser libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves command injection in hot-formula-parser. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 3.0.1.

CVE-2020-6836 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2020-6836
GHSA Identifier GHSA-rc77-xxq6-4mff
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')
Affected Product Hot formula parser
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-2020-6836

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

hot-formula-parser fixed: 3.0.1 
npm install hot-formula-parser@3.0.1
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 hot-formula-parser

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2020-6836, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls hot-formula-parser

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Hot formula parser in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 3.0.1), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls hot-formula-parser 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-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection'), where the product constructs all or part of a code segment using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the syntax or behavior of the intended code segment. In Hot formula parser, 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 `hot-formula-parser` prior to 3.0.1 are vulnerable to Command Injection. The package fails to sanitize values passed to the `parse` function and concatenates it in an `eval` call. If a value of the formula is supplied by user-controlled input it may allow attackers to run arbitrary commands in the server. Parsing the following formula creates a `test` file in the present directory: `"SUM([(function(){require('child_process').execSync('touch test')})(),2])"` ## Recommendation Upgrade to version 3.0.1 or later.

CVE-2020-6836 Affected Hot formula parser Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
3.0.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
hot-formula-parser
npm/hot-formula-parser
npm
< 3.0.1
3.0.1

References

blog.truesec.com/2020/01/17/reverse-... WEB
https://blog.truesec.com/2020/01/17/reverse-shell-through-a-node-js-math-parser
Hot formula parser Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/handsontable/formula-parser
www.npmjs.com/advisories/1439 WEB
https://www.npmjs.com/advisories/1439
NVD — CVE-2020-6836 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-6836
Hot formula parser Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/handsontable/formula-parser/pull/58
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/handsontable/formula-parser/commit/396b089738d4bf30eb570a4fe6a188affa95cd5e

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-6836?
CVE-2020-6836 is a security vulnerability in Hot formula parser involving Command Injection in hot-formula-parser under CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection').
Which Hot formula parser versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 3.0.1 across affected packages: hot-formula-parser.
What version fixes CVE-2020-6836?
Upgrading to 3.0.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is hot-formula-parser affected?
Yes, hot-formula-parser is affected in releases prior to 3.0.1. Upgrade your dependency to 3.0.1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-6836?
CVE-2020-6836 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-2020-6836?
CVE-2020-6836 is classified under CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection') (The product constructs all or part of a code segment using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the syntax or behavior of the intended code segment.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2020-6836?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls hot-formula-parser'. 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-rc77-xxq6-4mff",
  "modified" : "2021-08-25T21:04:44Z",
  "published" : "2020-05-06T19:32:33Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2020-6836" ],
  "summary" : "Command Injection in hot-formula-parser",
  "details" : "Versions of `hot-formula-parser` prior to 3.0.1 are vulnerable to Command Injection. The package fails to sanitize values passed to the  `parse` function and concatenates it in an `eval` call. If a value of the formula is supplied by user-controlled input it may allow attackers to run arbitrary commands in the server.  \nParsing the following formula creates a `test` file in the present directory:  \n`\"SUM([(function(){require('child_process').execSync('touch test')})(),2])\"`\n\n\n## Recommendation\n\nUpgrade to version 3.0.1 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" : "hot-formula-parser"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3.0.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-6836"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/handsontable/formula-parser/pull/58"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/handsontable/formula-parser/commit/396b089738d4bf30eb570a4fe6a188affa95cd5e"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://blog.truesec.com/2020/01/17/reverse-shell-through-a-node-js-math-parser"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/handsontable/formula-parser"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.npmjs.com/advisories/1439"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-94" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-05-06T19:32:05Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}