What is GHSA-RC4V-99CR-PJCM?

GHSA-RC4V-99CR-PJCM is a critical-severity security vulnerability in @seal-security/mongoose-fixed (npm), affecting versions = 5.3.3. It is fixed in 5.3.4.

How severe is GHSA-RC4V-99CR-PJCM?

GHSA-RC4V-99CR-PJCM has a CVSS score of 10.0 (Critical). 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 @seal-security/mongoose-fixed are affected by GHSA-RC4V-99CR-PJCM?

@seal-security/mongoose-fixed (npm) versions = 5.3.3 is affected.

Is there a fix for GHSA-RC4V-99CR-PJCM?

Yes. GHSA-RC4V-99CR-PJCM is fixed in 5.3.4. Upgrade to this version or later.

Is GHSA-RC4V-99CR-PJCM exploitable, and should I be worried?

Whether GHSA-RC4V-99CR-PJCM 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-RC4V-99CR-PJCM 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-RC4V-99CR-PJCM?

Upgrade @seal-security/mongoose-fixed to 5.3.4 or later.

GHSA-RC4V-99CR-PJCM in @seal-security/mongoose-fixed

Summary

Prototype Pollution in ali-security/mongoose

References

https://security.snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-JS-MONGOOSE-5777721
https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-9m93-w8w6-76hh
https://github.com/Automattic/mongoose/commit/f1efabf350522257364aa5c2cb36e441cf08f1a2

Impact

This vulnerability causes a Prototype Pollution in document.js, through functions such as findByIdAndUpdate().
For applications using Express and EJS, this can potentially allow remote code execution.

GHSA-RC4V-99CR-PJCM has a CVSS score of 10.0 (Critical). 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 (5.3.4); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Affected versions

@seal-security/mongoose-fixed (= 5.3.3)

Security releases

@seal-security/mongoose-fixed → 5.3.4 (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

The original patched version for mongoose 5.3.3 did not include a fix for CVE-2023-3696. Therefore the existing version @seal-security/mongoose-fixed version 5.3.3 is affected by this vulnerability (though it is protected from CVE-2022-2564 and CVE-2019-17426). To mitigate this issue, a @seal-security/mongoose-fixed version 5.3.4 has been deployed. Note that this version is compatible with the original mongoose version 5.3.3, not version 5.3.4

Frequently Asked Questions

What is GHSA-RC4V-99CR-PJCM? GHSA-RC4V-99CR-PJCM is a critical-severity security vulnerability in @seal-security/mongoose-fixed (npm), affecting versions = 5.3.3. It is fixed in 5.3.4.
How severe is GHSA-RC4V-99CR-PJCM? GHSA-RC4V-99CR-PJCM has a CVSS score of 10.0 (Critical). 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 @seal-security/mongoose-fixed are affected by GHSA-RC4V-99CR-PJCM? @seal-security/mongoose-fixed (npm) versions = 5.3.3 is affected.
Is there a fix for GHSA-RC4V-99CR-PJCM? Yes. GHSA-RC4V-99CR-PJCM is fixed in 5.3.4. Upgrade to this version or later.
Is GHSA-RC4V-99CR-PJCM exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether GHSA-RC4V-99CR-PJCM 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-RC4V-99CR-PJCM 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-RC4V-99CR-PJCM? Upgrade @seal-security/mongoose-fixed to 5.3.4 or later.