Summary
Path Traversal in decompress
Versions of decompress prior to 4.2.1 are vulnerable to Arbitrary File Write. The package fails to prevent extraction of files with relative paths, allowing attackers to write to any folder in the system by including filenames containing../.
Impact
Input manipulates file paths to reach files outside the intended directory, such as configuration or credential files. Typical impact: unauthorized file read or write outside the intended directory.
CVE-2020-12265 has a CVSS score of 9.8 (Critical). The vector is network-reachable, no privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (4.2.1); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
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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Upgrade to version 4.2.1 or later.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2020-12265? CVE-2020-12265 is a critical-severity path traversal vulnerability in decompress (npm), affecting versions < 4.2.1. It is fixed in 4.2.1. Input manipulates file paths to reach files outside the intended directory, such as configuration or credential files.
- How severe is CVE-2020-12265? CVE-2020-12265 has a CVSS score of 9.8 (Critical). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Which versions of decompress are affected by CVE-2020-12265? decompress (npm) versions < 4.2.1 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2020-12265? Yes. CVE-2020-12265 is fixed in 4.2.1. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2020-12265 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2020-12265 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-2020-12265 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-2020-12265? Upgrade
decompressto 4.2.1 or later.