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cdxgen >= v10.10.1 on Windows is affected by CVE-2025-27210

Moderate
prabhu published GHSA-j59w-7c4x-4xgw Jul 23, 2025

Package

npm @cyclonedx/cdxgen (npm)

Affected versions

>= v10.10.1

Patched versions

v11.6.0

Description

cdxgen v11.6.0 has been released with the updated version of Node.js 24.6.0. This version offers complete mitigation.

Impact

cdxgen offers single executable application (SEA) binaries for a variety of platforms, including Windows. These binaries (built using @appthreat/caxa) bundle a full Node.js runtime for ease of use and deployment. Beginning with versions v10.10.1, affected versions of Node.js are bundled along with the published SEA binaries.

The upstream vulnerability in Node.js only affects Windows users who use the following release artefacts:

  • cdxgen.exe
  • cdxgen-slim.exe
  • cdxgen-windows-arm64.exe
  • cdxgen-windows-amd64.exe
  • cdxgen-windows-arm64-slim.exe
  • cdxgen-windows-amd64-slim.exe
  • cdx-verify.exe
  • cdx-verify-windows-amd64.exe
  • cdx-verify-windows-arm64.exe

Testing

cdxgen --server
Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "http://localhost:9090/sbom" -Method POST  -ContentType "application/json" -Body '{"path": "COM1:../foo", "type": "js"}'

The message Generating SBOM for COM1:../foo confirms the presence of the vulnerability.

Invoke the API with an absolute path 'C:\Users\BANDHAN MAJUMDER\Downloads\open source\testing\cdxgen\COM1:..\foo' to reduce security risks.
Generating SBOM for COM1:../foo

In patched versions, an 403 error would get thrown with the body:

{
  error: "Path Not Allowed",
  details: "Path is not allowed as per the allowlist."
}

Patches

The following patches were added and merged to the master branch.

cdxgen v11.6.0 has been released with the updated version of Node.js 24.6.0. This version offers complete mitigation thanks to the two PRs below in Node.js.

nodejs/node#59286
nodejs/node#59261

Workarounds

Update node.js to the latest version that includes the fixes for CVE-2025-27210. These are:

  • 24.6.0 (Full mitigation)
  • 22.18.0 (Partial mitigation)
  • 20.19.4 (Partial mitigation)

cdxgen team, however, believe that the mitigation offered by updating Node.js runtime alone is quite limited due to the use of blocklists (rather than allowlists).

When using cdxgen in Windows (CLI, server, container), ensure the file path does not begin with device names such as con, com1, lpt1, etc.

Some example paths that could lead to path traversal are:

CON:../foo
CON:..\\..\\foo\\bar\\
PRN:.\\..\\bar
LpT5:/another/path
PRN:.././../etc/passwd
AUX:/foo\\bar/baz

In server mode, use the environment variable CDXGEN_SERVER_ALLOWED_PATHS as an allow list for trusted paths. The fix version (unreleased) includes multiple patches to validate and filter for any windows device names and problematic unicode characters.

References

nodejs/node@56f9db2aaa
https://hackerone.com/reports/3160912
https://nodejs.org/en/blog/vulnerability/january-2025-security-releases#path-traversal-by-drive-name-in-windows-environment-cve-2025-23084---medium
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/fileio/naming-a-file
nodejs/node#59286
nodejs/node#59261

Severity

Moderate

CVSS overall score

This score calculates overall vulnerability severity from 0 to 10 and is based on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS).
/ 10

CVSS v4 base metrics

Exploitability Metrics
Attack Vector Network
Attack Complexity Low
Attack Requirements None
Privileges Required None
User interaction Passive
Vulnerable System Impact Metrics
Confidentiality None
Integrity None
Availability None
Subsequent System Impact Metrics
Confidentiality None
Integrity Low
Availability None

CVSS v4 base metrics

Exploitability Metrics
Attack Vector: This metric reflects the context by which vulnerability exploitation is possible. This metric value (and consequently the resulting severity) will be larger the more remote (logically, and physically) an attacker can be in order to exploit the vulnerable system. The assumption is that the number of potential attackers for a vulnerability that could be exploited from across a network is larger than the number of potential attackers that could exploit a vulnerability requiring physical access to a device, and therefore warrants a greater severity.
Attack Complexity: This metric captures measurable actions that must be taken by the attacker to actively evade or circumvent existing built-in security-enhancing conditions in order to obtain a working exploit. These are conditions whose primary purpose is to increase security and/or increase exploit engineering complexity. A vulnerability exploitable without a target-specific variable has a lower complexity than a vulnerability that would require non-trivial customization. This metric is meant to capture security mechanisms utilized by the vulnerable system.
Attack Requirements: This metric captures the prerequisite deployment and execution conditions or variables of the vulnerable system that enable the attack. These differ from security-enhancing techniques/technologies (ref Attack Complexity) as the primary purpose of these conditions is not to explicitly mitigate attacks, but rather, emerge naturally as a consequence of the deployment and execution of the vulnerable system.
Privileges Required: This metric describes the level of privileges an attacker must possess prior to successfully exploiting the vulnerability. The method by which the attacker obtains privileged credentials prior to the attack (e.g., free trial accounts), is outside the scope of this metric. Generally, self-service provisioned accounts do not constitute a privilege requirement if the attacker can grant themselves privileges as part of the attack.
User interaction: This metric captures the requirement for a human user, other than the attacker, to participate in the successful compromise of the vulnerable system. This metric determines whether the vulnerability can be exploited solely at the will of the attacker, or whether a separate user (or user-initiated process) must participate in some manner.
Vulnerable System Impact Metrics
Confidentiality: This metric measures the impact to the confidentiality of the information managed by the VULNERABLE SYSTEM due to a successfully exploited vulnerability. Confidentiality refers to limiting information access and disclosure to only authorized users, as well as preventing access by, or disclosure to, unauthorized ones.
Integrity: This metric measures the impact to integrity of a successfully exploited vulnerability. Integrity refers to the trustworthiness and veracity of information. Integrity of the VULNERABLE SYSTEM is impacted when an attacker makes unauthorized modification of system data. Integrity is also impacted when a system user can repudiate critical actions taken in the context of the system (e.g. due to insufficient logging).
Availability: This metric measures the impact to the availability of the VULNERABLE SYSTEM resulting from a successfully exploited vulnerability. While the Confidentiality and Integrity impact metrics apply to the loss of confidentiality or integrity of data (e.g., information, files) used by the system, this metric refers to the loss of availability of the impacted system itself, such as a networked service (e.g., web, database, email). Since availability refers to the accessibility of information resources, attacks that consume network bandwidth, processor cycles, or disk space all impact the availability of a system.
Subsequent System Impact Metrics
Confidentiality: This metric measures the impact to the confidentiality of the information managed by the SUBSEQUENT SYSTEM due to a successfully exploited vulnerability. Confidentiality refers to limiting information access and disclosure to only authorized users, as well as preventing access by, or disclosure to, unauthorized ones.
Integrity: This metric measures the impact to integrity of a successfully exploited vulnerability. Integrity refers to the trustworthiness and veracity of information. Integrity of the SUBSEQUENT SYSTEM is impacted when an attacker makes unauthorized modification of system data. Integrity is also impacted when a system user can repudiate critical actions taken in the context of the system (e.g. due to insufficient logging).
Availability: This metric measures the impact to the availability of the SUBSEQUENT SYSTEM resulting from a successfully exploited vulnerability. While the Confidentiality and Integrity impact metrics apply to the loss of confidentiality or integrity of data (e.g., information, files) used by the system, this metric refers to the loss of availability of the impacted system itself, such as a networked service (e.g., web, database, email). Since availability refers to the accessibility of information resources, attacks that consume network bandwidth, processor cycles, or disk space all impact the availability of a system.
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:L/SA:N

CVE ID

CVE-2025-27210

Weaknesses

Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')

The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory. Learn more on MITRE.