Vulnerabilities in pkg:npm/ps-kill

PACKAGE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-7qmm-q394-fmch
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Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-23355 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) command injection vulnerability (CWE-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection')) affecting Ps kill libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves command injection in ps-kill. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

1 Known Advisory Record(s)
Package Vulnerability Intelligence

pkg:npm/ps-kill

1 Known Advisory Record(s)

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

Advisory ID CVE / NVD Severity Summary
GHSA-7qmm-q394-fmch CVE-2021-23355 CRITICAL Command Injection in ps-kill

CVE-2021-23355 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-23355
GHSA Identifier GHSA-7qmm-q394-fmch
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 Ps kill
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-2021-23355

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

ps-kill fixed: Latest secure release 
npm install ps-kill@Latest secure release
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 ps-kill

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2021-23355, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls ps-kill

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

Note: The npm ls ps-kill 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 Ps kill, 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 all versions of package ps-kill. If (attacker-controlled) user input is given to the kill function, it is possible for an attacker to execute arbitrary commands. This is due to use of the child_process exec function without input sanitization in the index.js file. PoC (provided by reporter): ```js var ps_kill = require('ps-kill'); ps_kill.kill('$(touch success)', function() {}); ```

CVE-2021-23355 Affected Ps kill Versions

1 component(s)
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
ps-kill
npm/ps-kill
npm
≤ 1.0.0

References

NVD — CVE-2021-23355 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-23355
snyk.io/vuln/snyk-js-pskill... WEB
https://snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-JS-PSKILL-1078529

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-23355?
CVE-2021-23355 is a security vulnerability in Ps kill involving Command Injection in ps-kill under CWE-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection').
Which Ps kill versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches across affected packages: ps-kill.
What version fixes CVE-2021-23355?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is ps-kill affected?
Yes, ps-kill is affected in releases prior to Latest secure release. Upgrade your dependency to Latest secure release or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-23355?
CVE-2021-23355 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-2021-23355?
CVE-2021-23355 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-2021-23355?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls ps-kill'. 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-7qmm-q394-fmch",
  "modified" : "2023-09-05T23:01:21Z",
  "published" : "2021-03-19T21:19:29Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-23355" ],
  "summary" : "Command Injection in ps-kill",
  "details" : "This affects all versions of package ps-kill. If (attacker-controlled) user input is given to the kill function, it is possible for an attacker to execute arbitrary commands. This is due to use of the child_process exec function without input sanitization in the index.js file. \n\nPoC (provided by reporter): \n```js\nvar ps_kill = require('ps-kill');\nps_kill.kill('$(touch success)', function() {});\n```",
  "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" : "ps-kill"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "last_affected" : "1.0.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-23355"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-JS-PSKILL-1078529"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-77" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-03-16T22:05:22Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2021-03-15T17:15:00Z"
  }
}