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CVE-2023-32004· NVD / CVE Program· CNA hackerone

A vulnerability has been discovered in Node.js version 20, specifically within the experimental permission model.

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 36/100)

  • 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: 2.1% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 81.6% of all records.
  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it. A low-privileged account is enough. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • Fixed version: NodeJS Node 10.*, 11.*, 12.*.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to NodeJS Node 10.*, 11.*, 12.* 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

A vulnerability has been discovered in Node.js version 20, specifically within the experimental permission model. This flaw relates to improper handling of Buffers in file system APIs causing a traversal path to bypass when verifying file permissions. This vulnerability affects all users using the experimental permission model in Node.js 20. Please note that at the time this CVE was issued, the permission model is an experimental feature of Node.js.

HighCVSS 8.8 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available
Published
Aug 15, 2023
Updated
Jun 17, 2026
EPSS
2.1% · 81th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

36

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
35 / 40 · 8.8 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
1 / 30 · 2.1%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
none
Automatable
no
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.

Follow CVE-2023-32004

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
fedoraprojectfedora

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
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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.js20.0.0 and later · up to 20.5.0 inclusive

Versions reported by the vendor

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

  • NodeJS Node

    • 4.0 and later · before 4.*affected · semver
    • 5.0 and later · before 5.*affected · semver
    • 6.0 and later · before 6.*affected · semver
    • 7.0 and later · before 7.*affected · semver
    • 8.0 and later · before 8.*affected · semver
    • 9.0 and later · before 9.*affected · semver
    • 10.0 and later · before 10.*affected · semver
    • 11.0 and later · before 11.*affected · semver
    • 12.0 and later · before 12.*affected · semver
    • 13.0 and later · before 13.*affected · semver

Package-level exposure

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

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
openSUSE:Tumbleweednodejs20before 20.5.1-1.120.5.1-1.1

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-2023-30589Jul 1, 2023 · The llhttp parser in the http module in Node v20.2.0 does not strictly use the CRLF sequence to delimit HTTP requests.
    31Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2023-32003Aug 15, 2023 · `fs.mkdtemp()` and `fs.mkdtempSync()` can be used to bypass the permission model check using a path traversal attack.
    21Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2023-32006Aug 15, 2023 · The use of `module.constructor.createRequire()` can bypass the policy mechanism and require modules outside of the policy.json definition fo
    35Monitor

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
NodeJS Node10.*Vendor (CNA)
NodeJS Node11.*Vendor (CNA)
NodeJS Node12.*Vendor (CNA)
NodeJS Node13.*Vendor (CNA)
NodeJS Node14.*Vendor (CNA)
NodeJS Node15.*Vendor (CNA)
NodeJS Node17.*Vendor (CNA)
NodeJS Node19.*Vendor (CNA)
NodeJS Node20.5.1Vendor (CNA)
NodeJS Node4.*Vendor (CNA)
NodeJS Node5.*Vendor (CNA)
NodeJS Node6.*Vendor (CNA)
NodeJS Node7.*Vendor (CNA)
NodeJS Node8.*Vendor (CNA)
NodeJS Node9.*Vendor (CNA)
opensuse:nodejs2020.5.1-1.1 · openSUSE:TumbleweedPackage 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.

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.

—

Chain candidates

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

  • CVE-2023-320026 days apartThe use of `Module._load()` can bypass the policy mechanism and require modules outside of the policy.json definition for a given module.
    39Monitor

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.
  • A low-privileged account is enough.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

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
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
High
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
High

CVSS vector

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

nvd-primary

Root cause

A user-supplied file name is joined with the allowed directory, but the result is never checked to confirm it is still inside that directory.

A representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.

Vulnerable

ts
const file = path.join(ROOT, req.query.name);res.sendFile(file);

Fixed

ts
const file = path.resolve(ROOT, req.query.name);if (!file.startsWith(ROOT + path.sep)) {  return res.sendStatus(400);}res.sendFile(file);

Change log

  1. Fix✗ → ✓

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

References

All records