Vulnerabilities in pkg:npm/backbone

PACKAGE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-j6p2-cx3w-6jcp
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Advisory Summary

CVE-2016-10537 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.4) cross-site scripting vulnerability (CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')) affecting Backbone libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves cross-site scripting in backbone. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.5.0.

1 Known Advisory Record(s)
Package Vulnerability Intelligence

pkg:npm/backbone

1 Known Advisory Record(s)

Vulnerability advisories affecting package pkg:npm/backbone. Select an advisory below to view technical details or fixes.

Advisory ID CVE / NVD Severity Summary
GHSA-j6p2-cx3w-6jcp CVE-2016-10537 MODERATE Cross-Site Scripting in backbone

CVE-2016-10537 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2016-10537
GHSA Identifier GHSA-j6p2-cx3w-6jcp
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.4
CWE Classification CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
Affected Product Backbone
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 5.4

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N).

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

How to Fix CVE-2016-10537

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

backbone fixed: 0.5.0 
npm install backbone@0.5.0
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 backbone

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2016-10537, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls backbone

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Backbone in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.5.0), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls backbone 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-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting'), where the product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes user-controllable input before it is placed in output that is used as a web page that is served to other users. In Backbone, 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

Affected versions of `backbone` are vulnerable to cross-site scripting when users are allowed to supply input to the `Model#Escape` function, and the output is then written to the DOM. The vulnerability occurs as a result of the regular expression used to encode metacharacters failing to take HTML Entities such as `<` into account. ## Recommendation Update to version 0.5.0 or later.

CVE-2016-10537 Affected Backbone Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.5.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
backbone
npm/backbone
npm
≥ 0.3.3
< 0.5.0
0.5.0

References

NVD — CVE-2016-10537 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-10537
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/jashkenas/backbone/commit/0cdc525961d3fa98e810ffae6bcc8e3838e36d93
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/jashkenas/backbone/commit/7ae0384120c2552e1c426cda7fb02fdce6ef1076
Backbone Security Information SECURITY
https://backbonejs.org/#changelog
Backbone Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/jashkenas/backbone
Backbone Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/jashkenas/backbone/blame/0cdc525961d3fa98e810ffae6bcc8e3838e36d93/backbone.js
Backbone Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/jashkenas/backbone/compare/0.3.3...0.5.0#diff-0d56d0d310de7ff18b3cef9c2f8f75dcL1008

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2016-10537?
CVE-2016-10537 is a security vulnerability in Backbone involving Cross-Site Scripting in backbone under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting').
Which Backbone versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.5.0 across affected packages: backbone.
What version fixes CVE-2016-10537?
Upgrading to 0.5.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is backbone affected?
Yes, backbone is affected in releases prior to 0.5.0. Upgrade your dependency to 0.5.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2016-10537?
CVE-2016-10537 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.4 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2016-10537?
CVE-2016-10537 is classified under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') (The product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes user-controllable input before it is placed in output that is used as a web page that is served to other users.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2016-10537?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls backbone'. 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-j6p2-cx3w-6jcp",
  "modified" : "2026-01-16T22:08:33Z",
  "published" : "2019-02-18T23:39:55Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2016-10537" ],
  "summary" : "Cross-Site Scripting in backbone",
  "details" : "Affected versions of `backbone` are vulnerable to cross-site scripting when users are allowed to supply input to the `Model#Escape` function, and the output is then written to the DOM. \n\nThe vulnerability occurs as a result of the regular expression used to encode metacharacters failing to take HTML Entities such as `&#60;` into account.\n\n\n## Recommendation\n\nUpdate to version 0.5.0 or later.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "backbone"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0.3.3"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.5.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-10537"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/jashkenas/backbone/commit/0cdc525961d3fa98e810ffae6bcc8e3838e36d93"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/jashkenas/backbone/commit/7ae0384120c2552e1c426cda7fb02fdce6ef1076"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://backbonejs.org/#changelog"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/jashkenas/backbone"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/jashkenas/backbone/blame/0cdc525961d3fa98e810ffae6bcc8e3838e36d93/backbone.js"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/jashkenas/backbone/compare/0.3.3...0.5.0#diff-0d56d0d310de7ff18b3cef9c2f8f75dcL1008"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-79" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-06-16T21:42:17Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}