Summary
ZX Allows Environment Variable Injection for dotenv API
Workarounds
If upgrading is not feasible, users can mitigate the vulnerability by sanitizing user-controlled environment variable values before passing them to dotenv.stringify. Specifically, avoid using ", ', and backticks in values, or enforce strict validation of environment variables before usage.
References
Impact
This vulnerability is an Environment Variable Injection issue in dotenv.stringify, affecting google/zx version 8.3.1.
An attacker with control over environment variable values can inject unintended environment variables into process.env. This can lead to arbitrary command execution or unexpected behavior in applications that rely on environment variables for security-sensitive operations. Applications that process untrusted input and pass it through dotenv.stringify are particularly vulnerable.
CVE-2025-24959 has a CVSS score of 5.2 (Medium). The vector is reachable from an adjacent network, low 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 (8.3.2); 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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See it in your environmentNew to Kodem? Get a demo →Remediation advice
This issue has been patched in version 8.3.2. Users should immediately upgrade to this version to mitigate the vulnerability.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2025-24959? CVE-2025-24959 is a medium-severity security vulnerability in zx (npm), affecting versions = 8.3.1. It is fixed in 8.3.2.
- How severe is CVE-2025-24959? CVE-2025-24959 has a CVSS score of 5.2 (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.
- Which versions of zx are affected by CVE-2025-24959? zx (npm) versions = 8.3.1 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2025-24959? Yes. CVE-2025-24959 is fixed in 8.3.2. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2025-24959 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2025-24959 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-2025-24959 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-2025-24959? Upgrade
zxto 8.3.2 or later.