Summary
Command Injection in pidusage
Affected versions of pidusage pass unsanitized input to child_process.exec(), resulting in arbitrary code execution in the ps method.
This package is vulnerable to this PoC on Darwin, SunOS, FreeBSD, and AIX.
Windows and Linux are not vulnerable.
Proof of Concept
var pid = require('pidusage');
pid.stat('1 && /usr/local/bin/python');
Impact
Untrusted input is inserted into a command that is later executed by the application, allowing the attacker to alter the intent of that command. Typical impact: arbitrary command execution in the application's environment.
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 1.1.5 or later.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2017-16034? CVE-2017-16034 is a critical-severity command injection vulnerability in pidusage (npm), affecting versions <= 1.1.4. It is fixed in 1.1.5. Untrusted input is inserted into a command that is later executed by the application, allowing the attacker to alter the intent of that command.
- Which versions of pidusage are affected by CVE-2017-16034? pidusage (npm) versions <= 1.1.4 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2017-16034? Yes. CVE-2017-16034 is fixed in 1.1.5. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2017-16034 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2017-16034 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-2017-16034 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-2017-16034? Upgrade
pidusageto 1.1.5 or later.