What is CVE-2026-9496?

CVE-2026-9496 is a high-severity uncontrolled resource consumption vulnerability in pacote (npm), affecting versions >= 11.2.7, < 21.5.1. It is fixed in 21.5.1. Crafted input forces the application to consume excessive CPU, memory, or other resources, degrading or denying service.

How severe is CVE-2026-9496?

CVE-2026-9496 has a CVSS score of 7.5 (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.

Which versions of pacote are affected by CVE-2026-9496?

pacote (npm) versions >= 11.2.7, < 21.5.1 is affected.

Is there a fix for CVE-2026-9496?

Yes. CVE-2026-9496 is fixed in 21.5.1. Upgrade to this version or later.

Is CVE-2026-9496 exploitable, and should I be worried?

Whether CVE-2026-9496 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-2026-9496 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.

CVE-2026-9496 in pacote

Q: How severe is CVE-2026-9496?

CVE-2026-9496 has a CVSS score of 7.5 (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.

Q: Which versions of pacote are affected by CVE-2026-9496?

pacote (npm) versions >= 11.2.7, < 21.5.1 is affected.

Q: Is there a fix for CVE-2026-9496?

Yes. CVE-2026-9496 is fixed in 21.5.1. Upgrade to this version or later.

Q: Is CVE-2026-9496 exploitable, and should I be worried?

Whether CVE-2026-9496 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-2026-9496 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-2026-9496?

Upgrade pacote to 21.5.1 or later.

Summary

pacote is vulnerable to Denial of Service (DoS) via the addGitSha function

Versions of the package pacote from 11.2.7 are vulnerable to Denial of Service (DoS) via the addGitSha function. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by supplying a specially crafted spec.rawSpec value that triggers the function’s regex replacement and string-manipulation logic, causing excessive CPU consumption and potentially stalling or crashing the process.

Impact

Crafted input forces the application to consume excessive CPU, memory, or other resources, degrading or denying service. Typical impact: denial of service.

CVE-2026-9496 has a CVSS score of 7.5 (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 (21.5.1); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Affected versions

pacote (>= 11.2.7, < 21.5.1)

Security releases

pacote → 21.5.1 (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

Upgrade pacote to 21.5.1 or later to resolve this vulnerability.

Kodem Kai can prioritize this vulnerability in your dependency tree and generate a fix recommendation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-9496? CVE-2026-9496 is a high-severity uncontrolled resource consumption vulnerability in pacote (npm), affecting versions >= 11.2.7, < 21.5.1. It is fixed in 21.5.1. Crafted input forces the application to consume excessive CPU, memory, or other resources, degrading or denying service.
How severe is CVE-2026-9496? CVE-2026-9496 has a CVSS score of 7.5 (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.
Which versions of pacote are affected by CVE-2026-9496? pacote (npm) versions >= 11.2.7, < 21.5.1 is affected.
Is there a fix for CVE-2026-9496? Yes. CVE-2026-9496 is fixed in 21.5.1. Upgrade to this version or later.
Is CVE-2026-9496 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-9496 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-2026-9496 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-2026-9496? Upgrade pacote to 21.5.1 or later.