CVE-2021-23360: Killport Command Injection Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-fc42-h7q4-qp8h
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-77
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-23360 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) command injection vulnerability (CWE-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection')) affecting Killport libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves command injection in killport. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.0.2.

CVE-2021-23360 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-23360
GHSA Identifier GHSA-fc42-h7q4-qp8h
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection')
Affected Product Killport
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:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity High (AC:H)
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-2021-23360

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

killport fixed: 1.0.2 
npm install killport@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 killport

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2021-23360, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls killport

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Killport 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 killport 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 Killport, 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 killport before 1.0.2. If (attacker-controlled) user input is given, it is possible for an attacker to execute arbitrary commands. This is due to use of the child_process exec function without input sanitization. Running this PoC will cause the command touch success to be executed, leading to the creation of a file called success.

CVE-2021-23360 Affected Killport Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.0.2
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
killport
npm/killport
npm
< 1.0.2
1.0.2

References

NVD — CVE-2021-23360 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-23360
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/ssnau/killport/commit/bec8e371f170a12e11cd222ffc7a6e1ae9942638
Killport Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/ssnau/killport/blob/5268f23ea8f152e47182b263d8f7ef20c12a9f28/index.js%23L9
snyk.io/vuln/snyk-js-killpo... WEB
https://snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-JS-KILLPORT-1078535

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-23360?
CVE-2021-23360 is a security vulnerability in Killport involving Command Injection in killport under CWE-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection').
Which Killport versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.0.2 across affected packages: killport.
What version fixes CVE-2021-23360?
Upgrading to 1.0.2 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is killport affected?
Yes, killport 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-2021-23360?
CVE-2021-23360 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2021-23360?
CVE-2021-23360 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-2021-23360?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls killport'. 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-fc42-h7q4-qp8h",
  "modified" : "2021-03-22T18:24:32Z",
  "published" : "2021-04-13T15:16:20Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-23360" ],
  "summary" : "Command Injection in killport",
  "details" : "This affects the package killport before 1.0.2. If (attacker-controlled) user input is given, it is possible for an attacker to execute arbitrary commands. This is due to use of the child_process exec function without input sanitization. Running this PoC will cause the command touch success to be executed, leading to the creation of a file called success.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "killport"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.0.2"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-23360"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/ssnau/killport/commit/bec8e371f170a12e11cd222ffc7a6e1ae9942638"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/ssnau/killport/blob/5268f23ea8f152e47182b263d8f7ef20c12a9f28/index.js%23L9"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-JS-KILLPORT-1078535"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-77" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-03-22T18:24:32Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2021-03-21T16:15:00Z"
  }
}