CVE-2022-31179

Shescape prior to 1.5.8 vulnerable to insufficient escaping of line feeds for CMD

Workarounds

Alternatively, line feed characters ('\n') can be stripped out manually or the user input can be made the last argument (this only limits the impact).

References

• https://github.com/ericcornelissen/shescape/pull/332
• https://github.com/ericcornelissen/shescape/releases/tag/v1.5.8

For more information

If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:

• Comment on https://github.com/ericcornelissen/shescape/pull/332
• Open an issue at https://github.com/ericcornelissen/shescape/issues (New issue > Question > Get started)

This impacts users that use Shescape (any API function) to escape arguments for cmd.exe on Windows. An attacker can omit all arguments following their input by including a line feed character ('\n') in the payload. Example:

import cp from "node:child_process";
import * as shescape from "shescape";

// 1. Prerequisites
const options = {
  shell: "cmd.exe",
};

// 2. Attack
const payload = "attacker\n";

// 3. Usage
let escapedPayload;
escapedPayload = shescape.escape(payload, options);
// Or
escapedPayload = shescape.escapeAll([payload], options)[0];
// Or
escapedPayload = shescape.quote(payload, options);
// Or
escapedPayload = shescape.quoteAll([payload], options)[0];

cp.execSync(`echo Hello ${escapedPayload}! How are you doing?`, options);
// Outputs:  "Hello attacker"

Note: execSync is just illustrative here, all of exec, execFile, execFileSync, fork, spawn, and spawnSync can be attacked using a line feed character if CMD is the shell being used.

CVE-2022-31179 has a CVSS score of 8.1 (High). 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 (1.5.8); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

Already deployed Kodem?

This bug has been patched in [v1.5.8] which you can upgrade to now. No further changes are required.

1. What is CVE-2022-31179? CVE-2022-31179 is a high-severity security vulnerability in shescape (npm), affecting versions < 1.5.8. It is fixed in 1.5.8.
2. How severe is CVE-2022-31179? CVE-2022-31179 has a CVSS score of 8.1 (High). 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 shescape are affected by CVE-2022-31179? shescape (npm) versions < 1.5.8 is affected.
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2022-31179? Yes. CVE-2022-31179 is fixed in 1.5.8. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2022-31179 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2022-31179 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-2022-31179 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-2022-31179? Upgrade shescape to 1.5.8 or later.

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