pnpm: Repository config can expand victim environment secrets into registry requests before scripts run
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Information disclosure
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · None · None
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 4 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA, GitHub and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-200.
Summary
pnpm is a package manager. Prior to 10.34.2 and 11.5.3, pnpm and pacquet expanded ${ENV_VAR} placeholders from repository-controlled .npmrc and pnpm-workspace.yaml into registry request destinations and registry credentials. A malicious repository could cause dependency resolution to send victim environment secrets to an attacker-selected registry before lifecycle scripts run. This vulnerability is fixed in 10.34.2 and 11.5.3.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- Poc
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| pnpm | pnpm | before 10.34.2; 11.0.0 to before 11.5.3 | 10.34.2, 11.5.3 | Patch available | CNA |
| — | pnpm (npm) | before 10.34.2 | 10.34.2 | Patch available | GHSA-3qhv-2rgh-x77r |
| — | pnpm (npm) | 11.0.0 to before 11.5.3 | 11.5.3 | Patch available | GHSA-3qhv-2rgh-x77r |
- pnpm Vendorpnpm Affected before 10.34.2; 11.0.0 to before 11.5.3 Fixed in 10.34.2, 11.5.3 Patch available CNA
- pnpm (npm) Vendor— Affected before 10.34.2 Fixed in 10.34.2 Patch available GHSA-3qhv-2rgh-x77r
- pnpm (npm) Vendor— Affected 11.0.0 to before 11.5.3 Fixed in 11.5.3 Patch available GHSA-3qhv-2rgh-x77r
Remediation
- Fix · CNA pnpm (pnpm) Fixed in 10.34.2, 11.5.3
- Fix · GHSA-3qhv-2rgh-x77r pnpm (npm) Fixed in 10.34.2 Advisory →
- Fix · GHSA-3qhv-2rgh-x77r pnpm (npm) Fixed in 11.5.3 Advisory →
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat AMQ Broker 7 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Build of Keycloak | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform Expansion Pack | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-55180
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-3qhv-2rgh-x77r
References
More Pnpm vulnerabilities
- TI-2025-42715 pnpm v10+ Bypass "Dependency lifecycle scripts execution disabled by default" CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2023-19086 pnpm incorrectly parses tar archives relative to specification CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-40212 pnpm: Project env lockfile can short-circuit package-manager resolution and execute lockfile-selected pnpm bytes CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2026-40211 pnpm: Repository-controlled configDependencies can select a pacquet native install engine CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2026-40042 pnpm: manifest identity spoof satisfies allowBuilds and runs attacker lifecycle CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2026-36842 pnpm: Transitive dependency alias path traversal allows project path override via symlink replacement CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
Sources
- CVE-2026-55180 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-55180 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-3qhv-2rgh-x77r · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-55180 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences