CVE-2020-15123

Command injection in codecov (npm package)

Workarounds

None, however, the attack surface is low in this case. Particularly in the standard use of codecov, where the module is used directly in a build pipeline, not built against as a library in another application that may supply malicious input and perform command injection.

References

• CVE-2020-7597

For more information

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The upload method has a command injection vulnerability. Clients of the codecov-node library are unlikely to be aware of this, so they might unwittingly write code that contains a vulnerability.

A similar CVE was issued: CVE-2020-7597, but the fix was incomplete. It only blocked &, and command injection is still possible using backticks instead to bypass the sanitizer.

We have written a CodeQL query, which automatically detects this vulnerability. You can see the results of the query on the codecov-node project here.

Untrusted input reaches a shell command, allowing arbitrary commands to run on the host. Typical impact: code execution in the application's environment.

CVE-2020-15123 has a CVSS score of 9.3 (Medium). The vector is network-reachable, no privileges required, and user interaction required. 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 (3.7.1); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

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This has been patched in version 3.7.1

1. What is CVE-2020-15123? CVE-2020-15123 is a medium-severity OS command injection vulnerability in codecov (npm), affecting versions < 3.7.1. It is fixed in 3.7.1. Untrusted input reaches a shell command, allowing arbitrary commands to run on the host.
2. How severe is CVE-2020-15123? CVE-2020-15123 has a CVSS score of 9.3 (Medium). 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.
3. Which versions of codecov are affected by CVE-2020-15123? codecov (npm) versions < 3.7.1 is affected.
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2020-15123? Yes. CVE-2020-15123 is fixed in 3.7.1. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2020-15123 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2020-15123 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
6. What actually determines whether CVE-2020-15123 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.
7. How do I fix CVE-2020-15123? Upgrade codecov to 3.7.1 or later.

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