launch-editor: `fs.existsSync()` existence check can be bypassed on Windows
### Summary `launch-editor` checked `fs.existsSync(fileName)` before passing a supplied path to an editor command. On Windows, an attacker can bypass this check with a crafted path ending in `\\..:line:column`. This removes the requirement that the attacker be able to place a file with a malicious filename. Combined with the `%` escaping issue described in [GHSA-698v-4r3x-3vcv](https://github.com/vitejs/launch-editor/security/advisories/GHSA-698v-4r3x-3vcv), this bypass can lead to OS command injection when an attacker controls the file argument. ### Impact Only apps that runs on Windows is affected. ### Details The earlier advisory assumed that `fs.existsSync()` required an attacker-controlled filename to exist. This advisory covers a bypass of that requirement. A crafted value ending in `\\..:1:1` is interpreted differently by `launch-editor-middleware`, `launch-editor`, and Windows: 1. `launch-editor-middleware` calls `path.resolve()` while the final path component is `..:1:1`, so it is not treated as a parent-directory component. 2. `launch-editor` treats `:1:1` as a line-and-column suffix and removes it, leaving a path ending in `\\..`. 3. On Windows, `fs.existsSync()` accepts the resulting path as the existing parent directory even though the attacker-controlled preceding component does not exist. 4. Because the existence check passes, the crafted filename reaches the Windows shell command.
describes (1)
Related CVEs.
| ID | severity | exploitable | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2026-112942US | — | — | ||
launch-editor allows users to open files with line numbers in editor from Node.js. Prior to 2.14.2, launch-editor-middleware processes an attacker-controlled Windows file argument… | ||||
references
External citations — patches, advisories, analysis.
- https://github.com/vitejs/launch-editorPACKAGE
- https://github.com/vitejs/launch-editor/commit/f13cd835d4b8e860b1d4d080ad8a490cc2463679WEB
- https://github.com/vitejs/launch-editor/releases/tag/v2.14.2WEB
- https://github.com/vitejs/launch-editor/security/advisories/GHSA-587h-7wmj-h5pmWEB
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-112942ADVISORY
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