Summary
Renovate vulnerable to arbitrary command injection via npm manager and malicious Renovate configuration
Impact
This is a Arbitrary Command Injection vulnerability, allowing those with write access on repositories configured to be scanned by Renovate to cause the execution of commands of their choice on the machine that runs Renovate.
Untrusted input is inserted into a command that is later executed by the application, allowing the attacker to alter the intent of that command. Typical impact: arbitrary command execution in the application's environment.
GHSA-FR4J-65PV-GJJJ has a CVSS score of 6.7 (Medium). The vector is requires local access, high 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 (40.33.0); 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.
Remediation advice
Kodem Kai can prioritize this vulnerability in your dependency tree and generate a fix recommendation.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is GHSA-FR4J-65PV-GJJJ? GHSA-FR4J-65PV-GJJJ is a medium-severity command injection vulnerability in renovate (npm), affecting versions >= 35.63.0, < 40.33.0. It is fixed in 40.33.0. Untrusted input is inserted into a command that is later executed by the application, allowing the attacker to alter the intent of that command.
- How severe is GHSA-FR4J-65PV-GJJJ? GHSA-FR4J-65PV-GJJJ has a CVSS score of 6.7 (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 renovate are affected by GHSA-FR4J-65PV-GJJJ? renovate (npm) versions >= 35.63.0, < 40.33.0 is affected.
- Is there a fix for GHSA-FR4J-65PV-GJJJ? Yes. GHSA-FR4J-65PV-GJJJ is fixed in 40.33.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is GHSA-FR4J-65PV-GJJJ exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether GHSA-FR4J-65PV-GJJJ 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-FR4J-65PV-GJJJ 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-FR4J-65PV-GJJJ? Upgrade
renovateto 40.33.0 or later.