Summary
Local Privilege Escalation in npm
Affected versions of npm use predictable temporary file names during archive unpacking. If an attacker can create a symbolic link at the location of one of these temporary file names, the attacker can arbitrarily write to any file that the user which owns the npm process has permission to write to, potentially resulting in local privilege escalation.
Impact
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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Update to version 1.3.3 or later.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2013-4116? CVE-2013-4116 is a low-severity security vulnerability in npm (npm), affecting versions < 1.3.3. It is fixed in 1.3.3.
- Which versions of npm are affected by CVE-2013-4116? npm (npm) versions < 1.3.3 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2013-4116? Yes. CVE-2013-4116 is fixed in 1.3.3. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2013-4116 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2013-4116 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2013-4116 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
- How do I fix CVE-2013-4116? Upgrade
npmto 1.3.3 or later.