What is CVE-2025-59288?

CVE-2025-59288 is a high-severity security vulnerability in playwright (npm), affecting versions < 1.55.1. It is fixed in 1.55.1.

Which versions of playwright are affected by CVE-2025-59288?

playwright (npm) versions < 1.55.1 is affected.

Is there a fix for CVE-2025-59288?

Yes. CVE-2025-59288 is fixed in 1.55.1. Upgrade to this version or later.

Is CVE-2025-59288 exploitable, and should I be worried?

Whether CVE-2025-59288 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.

What actually determines whether CVE-2025-59288 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-2025-59288?

Upgrade playwright to 1.55.1 or later.

CVE-2025-59288 in playwright

Q: Which versions of playwright are affected by CVE-2025-59288?

playwright (npm) versions < 1.55.1 is affected.

Q: Is there a fix for CVE-2025-59288?

Yes. CVE-2025-59288 is fixed in 1.55.1. Upgrade to this version or later.

Q: Is CVE-2025-59288 exploitable, and should I be worried?

Whether CVE-2025-59288 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.

Q: What actually determines whether CVE-2025-59288 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.

Q: How do I fix CVE-2025-59288?

Upgrade playwright to 1.55.1 or later.

Summary

Playwright downloads and installs browsers without verifying the authenticity of the SSL certificate

Use of curl with the -k (or --insecure) flag in installer scripts allows attackers to deliver arbitrary executables via Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attacks. This can lead to full system compromise, as the downloaded files are installed as privileged applications.

Details

The following scripts in the microsoft/playwright repository at commit bee11cbc28f24bd18e726163d0b9b1571b4f26a8 use curl -k to fetch and install executable packages without verifying the authenticity of the SSL certificate:

In each case, the shell scripts download a browser installer package using curl -k and immediately install it:

curl --retry 3 -o ./<pkg-file> -k <url>
sudo installer -pkg /tmp/<pkg-file> -target /

Disabling SSL verification (-k) means the download can be intercepted and replaced with malicious content.

PoC

A high-level exploitation scenario:

An attacker performs a MitM attack on a network where the victim runs one of these scripts.
The attacker intercepts the HTTPS request and serves a malicious package (for example, a trojaned browser installer).
Because curl -k is used, the script downloads and installs the attacker's payload without any certificate validation.
The attacker's code is executed with system privileges, leading to full compromise.

No special configuration is needed: simply running these scripts on any untrusted or hostile network is enough.

Credit

This vulnerability was uncovered by tooling by Socket
This vulnerability was confirmed by @evilpacket
This vulnerability was reported by @JLLeitschuh at Socket

Disclosure

September 10th, 2025 - Disclosed to Microsoft privately via https://github.com/microsoft/playwright/security/advisories/GHSA-gx27-2j22-qcx8
September 11th, 2025 - Reported to Microsoft via MSRC Researcher Portal - https://msrc.microsoft.com/report/vulnerability/VULN-162854
September 11th, 2025 - Microsoft closed report as "Complete - N/A"
September 18th, 2025 - Following a LinkedIn Post

Impact

This is a critical Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability due to improper SSL certificate validation (CWE-295: Improper Certificate Validation). Any user or automation running these scripts is at risk of arbitrary code execution as root/admin, system compromise, data theft, or persistent malware installation. The risk is especially severe because browser packages are installed with elevated privileges and the scripts may be used in CI/CD or developer environments.

Affected versions

playwright (< 1.55.1)

Security releases

playwright → 1.55.1 (npm)

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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Remediation advice

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-59288? CVE-2025-59288 is a high-severity security vulnerability in playwright (npm), affecting versions < 1.55.1. It is fixed in 1.55.1.
Which versions of playwright are affected by CVE-2025-59288? playwright (npm) versions < 1.55.1 is affected.
Is there a fix for CVE-2025-59288? Yes. CVE-2025-59288 is fixed in 1.55.1. Upgrade to this version or later.
Is CVE-2025-59288 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2025-59288 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-2025-59288 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-2025-59288? Upgrade playwright to 1.55.1 or later.