GHSA-f84p-cvgm-xgjj

ghsaUSosv

protobuf.js is Vulnerable to OS Command Injection in the CLI

view advisory published 2026-05-12Licence: CC-BY-4.0

## Summary `pbts` invoked JSDoc by building a shell command string from input file paths and executing it through `child_process.exec`. File paths containing shell metacharacters could therefore be interpreted by the shell instead of being passed to JSDoc as plain arguments. ## Impact An attacker who can control file names or paths passed to `pbts` may be able to execute arbitrary shell commands with the privileges of the process running `pbts`. This affects the protobufjs CLI tooling path. The protobufjs runtime APIs for encoding, decoding, parsing, and loading protobuf messages are not directly affected by this issue. ## Preconditions - The application or user must invoke `pbts` on file paths influenced by an attacker. - The attacker must be able to supply or create a path containing shell-significant characters. - The vulnerable `pbts` version must execute the generated JSDoc command through a shell. ## Workarounds Do not run affected versions of `pbts` on attacker-controlled file names or paths. If this cannot be avoided, sanitize or rename input files before invoking `pbts`, or run the CLI in an isolated environment with minimal privileges.

01

describes (1)

Related CVEs.

IDseverity exploitable
CVE-2026-42290UShigh7.8—
protobufjs-cli is the command line add-on for protobuf.js. Prior to 1.2.1 and 2.0.2, pbts invoked JSDoc by building a shell command string from input file paths and executing it th…
02

references

External citations — patches, advisories, analysis.

scry

Advisories like this name the exposed products attackers go after on your perimeter. See what is exposed on your perimeter with a free passive scan.

Free scan