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CVE-2018-12120· NVD / CVE Program· CNA nodejs

Node.js: All versions prior to Node.js 6.15.0: Debugger port 5858 listens on any interface by default: When the debugger is enabled with `no

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 33/100)

  • The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 4.2% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 91% of all records.
  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it. No account or password is required. No user action is required. Special conditions such as timing or configuration are required.
  • According to CISA the attack is automatable: targets can be found by mass scanning.
  • Fixed version: nodejs (Debian:12) 8.9.3~dfsg-5; nodejs4 (SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Web and Scripting 12) 4.9.1-15.17.1; nodejs6 (SUSE:OpenStack Cloud 7) 6.16.0-11.21.1.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to nodejs (Debian:12) 8.9.3~dfsg-5; nodejs4 (SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Web and Scripting 12) 4.9.1-15.17.1; nodejs6 (SUSE:OpenStack Cloud 7) 6.16.0-11.21.1 or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

Node.js: All versions prior to Node.js 6.15.0: Debugger port 5858 listens on any interface by default: When the debugger is enabled with `node --debug` or `node debug`, it listens to port 5858 on all interfaces by default. This may allow remote computers to attach to the debug port and evaluate arbitrary JavaScript. The default interface is now localhost. It has always been possible to start the debugger on a specific interface, such as `node --debug=localhost`. The debugger was removed in Node.js 8 and replaced with the inspector, so no versions from 8 and later are vulnerable.

HighCVSS 8.1 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available
Published
Nov 28, 2018
Updated
Oct 8, 2026
EPSS
4.2% · 91th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

33

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
32 / 40 · 8.1 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
1 / 30 · 4.2%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
none
Automatable
yes
Technical impact
total

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

Get told when this record changes

  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • No public exploit code on record
  • A fix has been released

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

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When you'll hear from us

  • when it enters CISA KEV
  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

VendorProduct
nodejsnode.js

Using node.js? Add it to your stack and be the first to know about CVEs like this one. (Node.js)

Watch new CVEs for node.js

When you'll hear from us

  • when a new CVE affecting this product is published
  • when a record in your stack enters KEV or gets exploit code

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  • Stack alerts: add the products and versions you run, get the new CVEs that affect them
  • Uptime monitoring: 1 site, instant email when it goes down
  • Add your domain: subdomains and takeover risk scanned every week (1 domain)
  • 10 scans an hour on the security tools (3 a day without an account), an API key and MCP
  • All your scans in one panel: findings, what changed in the last scan, a report per domain or per client (PDF, share link)
All free tools

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Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • nodejs node.js6.0.0 and later · before 6.15.0

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (nodejs). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • The Node.js Project Node.js

    • All versions prior to Node.js 6.15.0affected

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Debian:12nodejsbefore 8.9.3~dfsg-58.9.3~dfsg-5
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Web and Scripting 12nodejs4before 4.9.1-15.17.14.9.1-15.17.1
SUSE:OpenStack Cloud 7nodejs6before 6.16.0-11.21.16.16.0-11.21.1

Same product

nodejs: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2019-15605HTTP request smuggling in Node.js 10, 12, and 13 causes malicious payload delivery when transfer-encoding is malformed
    56Plan
  • CVE-2021-22883Node.js before 10.24.0, 12.21.0, 14.16.0, and 15.10.0 is vulnerable to a denial of service attack when too many connection attempts with an
    53Plan
  • CVE-2021-22930Node.js before 16.6.0, 14.17.4, and 12.22.4 is vulnerable to a use after free attack where an attacker might be able to exploit the memory c
    50Plan

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2018-7166Aug 21, 2018 · In all versions of Node.js 10 prior to 10.9.0, an argument processing flaw can cause `Buffer.alloc()` to return uninitialized memory.
    31Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2018-12116Nov 28, 2018 · Node.js: All versions prior to Node.js 6.15.0 and 8.14.0: HTTP request splitting: If Node.js can be convinced to use unsanitized user-provid
    31Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2018-12121Nov 28, 2018 · Node.js: All versions prior to Node.js 6.15.0, 8.14.0, 10.14.0 and 11.3.0: Denial of Service with large HTTP headers: By using a combination
    33Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
debian:nodejs8.9.3~dfsg-5 · Debian:12Package registry (OSV)
suse:nodejs44.9.1-15.17.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Web and Scripting 12Package registry (OSV)
suse:nodejs66.16.0-11.21.1 · SUSE:OpenStack Cloud 7Package registry (OSV)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

The product’s vendor appears in a public program. Matched by name; verify the scope text in the program.

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
  • No account or password is required.
  • No user action is required.
  • Special conditions such as timing or configuration are required.

If successful

Confidentiality
high · data can be read
Integrity
high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
High
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
High
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-419 · Unprotected Primary Channel

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

nvd-primary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

Change log

  1. SSVC exploitation— → none
  2. Fix✗ → ✓

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

Show all references (1 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records