CVE-2026-23888
pnpm: Binary ZIP extraction allows arbitrary file write via path traversal (Zip Slip)
pnpm is a package manager. Prior to version 10.28.1, a path traversal vulnerability in pnpm's binary fetcher allows malicious packages to write files outside the intended extraction directory. The vulnerability has two attack vectors: (1) Malicious ZIP entries containing `../` or absolute paths that escape the extraction root via AdmZip's `extractAllTo`, and (2) The `BinaryResolution.prefix` field is concatenated into the extraction path without validation, allowing a crafted prefix like `../../evil` to redirect extracted files outside `targetDir`. The issue impacts all pnpm users who install packages with binary assets, users who configure custom Node.js binary locations and CI/CD pipelines that auto-install binary dependencies. It can lead to overwriting config files, scripts, or other sensitive files leading to RCE. Version 10.28.1 contains a patch.
- Affected
- pnpm
- CVSS v3.1 GITHUB
- 6.5 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N - EPSS
- 0.46% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, 39th percentile
- Published
- 2026-01-26
- Updated
- 2026-01-27
Proof-of-concept exploits (1)
Security advisories
- pnpm/pnpm/security/advisories/GHSA-6pfh-p556-v868
- pnpm/pnpm/commit/5c382f0ca3b7cc49963b94677426e66539dcb3f5