VulnerabilityPublished 13 Aug 2026Updated 3 Nov 2026

CVE-2026-23888: pnpm · Binary ZIP extraction allows arbitrary file write via path traversal (Zip Slip)

Affects pnpm@9Source GCVE Database

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.5 Medium.

Data as of 4 Nov 2026, 01:46 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

6.5Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: High
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: Required: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires a user to take some action before the vulnerability can be exploited.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 13 Aug 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 3 Nov 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Homebrewpnpm@9`pkg:brew/pnpm%409`Other threats	Affected >=9.15.4	Fixed in–

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AI-suggested

Until a fix is available, users should avoid installing untrusted packages containing binary assets and avoid using untrusted or manipulated BinaryResolution.prefix values. Monitoring vendor advisories for an official fix is recommended.

Description

A path traversal vulnerability in pnpm's binary fetcher allows malicious ZIP archives or crafted extraction prefixes to write files outside the intended directory. This can lead to overwriting sensitive files such as configuration files. The flaw arises from AdmZip's extractAllTo method not validating ZIP entry paths and from unvalidated prefix concatenation in the extraction path. The vulnerability affects pnpm versions 9.15.4 and later. The CVSS score is 6.5 (medium severity).

Impact

This vulnerability impacts all pnpm users who install packages with binary assets, users configuring custom Node.js binary locations, and CI/CD pipelines that auto-install binary dependencies. Exploitation can overwrite configuration files, scripts, or other sensitive files, which may lead to remote code execution. The CVSS 3.1 score is 6.5, indicating a medium severity impact with high integrity impact but no confidentiality or availability impact.

Summary

CVE-2026-23888 is a path traversal vulnerability in pnpm's binary fetching and extraction logic. It has two attack vectors: (1) ZIP archives containing entries with '../' sequences or absolute paths can escape the extraction root due to AdmZip's extractAllTo lacking path validation, allowing arbitrary file writes outside the target directory; (2) the BinaryResolution.prefix field is concatenated into the extraction path without validation, so a malicious prefix like '../../evil' can redirect extracted files outside the intended directory. This can overwrite sensitive files such as .npmrc, potentially leading to remote code execution. The vulnerability was verified on pnpm main at commit 5a0ed1d45 and affects pnpm versions >=9.15.4.

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 4 Nov 2026, 01:46 UTC

Technical details

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