VulnerabilityPublished 13 Aug 2026Updated 3 Nov 2026

CVE-2026-24056: Pnpm@9 · pnpm has symlink traversal in file:/git dependencies

Affects pnpm@9Source GCVE Database

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.5 Medium.

Data as of 4 Nov 2026, 01:45 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:H/I:N/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: None
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: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within 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

The suggested fix is to modify pnpm's code to use lstatSync to detect symlinks and reject those that point outside the package root directory. Until a fix is released, users should avoid installing untrusted file: or git: dependencies with pnpm >=9.15.4. Monitor the vendor advisory for official patches or updates.

Description

pnpm version 9.15.4 and later has a vulnerability where it follows symlinks in file: and git: dependencies without restricting access to the package root. This can lead to local file disclosure if a malicious package includes symlinks to sensitive files such as /etc/passwd or SSH keys. The issue does not affect registry packages published to npm, as symlinks are stripped there. The vulnerability has a CVSS score of 6.5 (medium severity).

Impact

Developers and CI/CD pipelines that install local file or git dependencies using pnpm >=9.15.4 are at risk of local file disclosure. An attacker can craft a malicious package containing symlinks to sensitive files, causing those files to be copied into node_modules during installation, potentially exposing credentials and private keys. This can lead to credential theft and compromise of developer or build environments.

Summary

pnpm versions >=9.15.4 improperly handle symlinks when installing file: or git: dependencies by following them and reading their target contents without verifying that the targets reside within the package directory. This allows a malicious package to include symlinks pointing to arbitrary absolute paths on the victim's filesystem, causing pnpm to copy sensitive files (e.g., /etc/passwd, ~/.ssh/id_rsa) into node_modules, resulting in local data leakage. The vulnerability stems from use of fs.statSync() and fs.readFileSync() which follow symlinks by default, without checks to constrain paths inside the package root. Registry packages are not affected because symlinks are removed during publishing.

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 4 Nov 2026, 01:45 UTC

Technical details

References

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