CVE-2019-16777

Name: CVE-2019-16777
Creator: NVD / NIST
Published: 2019-12-13T01:15:11.007+00:00
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

MEDIUMCVSS 6.5/10EPSS 1.98%

Last modified Jun 17, 2026

CVE-2019-16777 is a medium-severity vulnerability rated 6.5/10 on the CVSS scale. Versions of the npm CLI prior to 6.13.4 are vulnerable to an Arbitrary File Overwrite. It fails to prevent existing globally-installed binaries to be overwritten by other package installations. EPSS estimates a 1.98% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Description

Versions of the npm CLI prior to 6.13.4 are vulnerable to an Arbitrary File Overwrite. It fails to prevent existing globally-installed binaries to be overwritten by other package installations. For example, if a package was installed globally and created a serve binary, any subsequent installs of packages that also create a serve binary would overwrite the previous serve binary. This behavior is still allowed in local installations and also through install scripts. This vulnerability bypasses a user using the --ignore-scripts install option.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1

6.5/10

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

EPSS Probability

1.98%

78.0th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

Affected Software

Vendor	Product	Versions
Npmjs	Npm	< 6.13.4
Opensuse	Leap	15.1
Oracle	Graalvm	19.3.0.2
Fedoraproject	Fedora	31
Redhat	Enterprise Linux	8.0
Redhat	Enterprise Linux Eus	8.1

References

http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-01/msg00027.htmlMailing List, Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHEA-2020:0330Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2020:0573Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2020:0579Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2020:0597Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2020:0602Third Party Advisory
https://blog.npmjs.org/post/189618601100/binary-planting-with-the-npm-cliThird Party Advisory
https://github.com/npm/cli/security/advisories/GHSA-4328-8hgf-7wjrThird Party Advisory
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/Z36UKPO5F3PQ3Q2POMF5LEKXWAH5RUFP/
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202003-48Third Party Advisory
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujan2020.htmlThird Party Advisory
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-01/msg00027.htmlMailing List, Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHEA-2020:0330Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2020:0573Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2020:0579Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2020:0597Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2020:0602Third Party Advisory
https://blog.npmjs.org/post/189618601100/binary-planting-with-the-npm-cliThird Party Advisory
https://github.com/npm/cli/security/advisories/GHSA-4328-8hgf-7wjrThird Party Advisory
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/Z36UKPO5F3PQ3Q2POMF5LEKXWAH5RUFP/
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202003-48Third Party Advisory
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujan2020.htmlThird Party Advisory

Timeline

Published: Dec 13, 2019
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Modified

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2019-16777?

How severe is CVE-2019-16777?

CVE-2019-16777 has a CVSS score of 6.5/10 (MEDIUM severity). The EPSS model estimates a 1.98% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2019-16777?

Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.

Are you affected by CVE-2019-16777?

Run a free Strix scan to check your systems for this vulnerability.

Scan your code now

Source: NVD / NIST