CVE-2021-32819: Squirrelly Insecure Template Handling Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-q8j6-pwqx-pm96
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CVSS 8.0
CWE-200
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-32819 is a HIGH (CVSS 8.0) insecure template handling vulnerability (CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor) affecting Squirrelly libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves insecure template handling in squirrelly. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 9.0.0.

CVE-2021-32819 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-32819
GHSA Identifier GHSA-q8j6-pwqx-pm96
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 8.0
CWE Classification CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor
Affected Product Squirrelly
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 8.0

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity High (AC:H)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction Required (UI:R)
Scope Changed (S:C)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2021-32819

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

squirrelly fixed: 9.0.0 
npm install squirrelly@9.0.0
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 squirrelly

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2021-32819, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls squirrelly

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Squirrelly in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 9.0.0), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls squirrelly 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-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor, where the product exposes sensitive information to an actor that is not explicitly authorized to have access to that information. In Squirrelly, 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

Squirrelly is a template engine implemented in JavaScript that works out of the box with ExpressJS. Squirrelly mixes pure template data with engine configuration options through the Express render API. By overwriting internal configuration options remote code execution may be triggered in downstream applications. Version 9.0.0 has a fix for this issue. For complete details refer to the referenced [GHSL-2021-023](https://securitylab.github.com/advisories/GHSL-2021-023-squirrelly/).

CVE-2021-32819 Affected Squirrelly Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
9.0.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
squirrelly
npm/squirrelly
npm
< 9.0.0
9.0.0

References

NVD — CVE-2021-32819 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-32819
Squirrelly Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/squirrellyjs/squirrelly/pull/254
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/squirrellyjs/squirrelly/commit/c12418a026f73df645ba927fd29358efe02fed1e
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/squirrellyjs/squirrelly/commit/dca7a1e7ee91d8a6ffffb655f3f15647486db9da
Squirrelly Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/squirrellyjs/squirrelly
GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://securitylab.github.com/advisories/GHSL-2021-023-squirrelly

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-32819?
CVE-2021-32819 is a security vulnerability in Squirrelly involving Insecure template handling in Squirrelly under CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor.
Which Squirrelly versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 9.0.0 across affected packages: squirrelly.
What version fixes CVE-2021-32819?
Upgrading to 9.0.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is squirrelly affected?
Yes, squirrelly is affected in releases prior to 9.0.0. Upgrade your dependency to 9.0.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-32819?
CVE-2021-32819 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.0 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2021-32819?
CVE-2021-32819 is classified under CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor (The product exposes sensitive information to an actor that is not explicitly authorized to have access to that information.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2021-32819?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls squirrelly'. 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-q8j6-pwqx-pm96",
  "modified" : "2023-09-11T16:25:10Z",
  "published" : "2021-05-17T20:58:02Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-32819" ],
  "summary" : "Insecure template handling in Squirrelly",
  "details" : "Squirrelly is a template engine implemented in JavaScript that works out of the box with ExpressJS. Squirrelly mixes pure template data with engine configuration options through the Express render API. By overwriting internal configuration options remote code execution may be triggered in downstream applications. Version 9.0.0 has a fix for this issue. For complete details refer to the referenced [GHSL-2021-023](https://securitylab.github.com/advisories/GHSL-2021-023-squirrelly/).",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "squirrelly"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "9.0.0"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 8.0.8"
    }
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-32819"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/squirrellyjs/squirrelly/pull/254"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/squirrellyjs/squirrelly/commit/c12418a026f73df645ba927fd29358efe02fed1e"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/squirrellyjs/squirrelly/commit/dca7a1e7ee91d8a6ffffb655f3f15647486db9da"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/squirrellyjs/squirrelly"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://securitylab.github.com/advisories/GHSL-2021-023-squirrelly"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-200" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-05-17T18:46:59Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2021-05-14T19:15:00Z"
  }
}