CVE-2016-1000223
Forgeable Public/Private Tokens in jws
Affected versions of the jws package allow users to select what algorithm the server will use to verify a provided JWT. A malicious actor can use this behaviour to arbitrarily modify the contents of a JWT while still passing verification. For the common use case of the JWT as a bearer token, the end result is a complete authentication bypass with minimal effort.
Recommendation
Update to version 3.0.0 or later.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
What each source reports
GitHub Advisories Score usedGHSA-gjcw-v447-2w7q
Forgeable Public/Private Tokens in jws
Affected versions of the jws package allow users to select what algorithm the server will use to verify a provided JWT. A malicious actor can use this behaviour to arbitrarily modify the contents of a JWT while still passing verification. For the common use case of the JWT as a bearer token, the end result is a complete authentication bypass with minimal effort.
Recommendation
Update to version 3.0.0 or later.
- Record
GHSA-gjcw-v447-2w7q- CVSS 3.1
- 8.7 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-gjcw-v447-2w7q
Forgeable Public/Private Tokens in jws
Affected versions of the jws package allow users to select what algorithm the server will use to verify a provided JWT. A malicious actor can use this behaviour to arbitrarily modify the contents of a JWT while still passing verification. For the common use case of the JWT as a bearer token, the end result is a complete authentication bypass with minimal effort.
Recommendation
Update to version 3.0.0 or later.
- Record
GHSA-gjcw-v447-2w7q- CVSS 3.1
- 8.7 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVCLSA-2026-1784943208 No score
TuxCare security update for jws (2 CVEs)
TuxCare rebuilt jws to address 2 CVEs. Fixed in 0.2.6-tuxcare.1.
- Record
CLSA-2026-1784943208- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVROOT-APP-NPM-CVE-2016-1000223 No score
CVE-2016-1000223 in @rootio/jws - Patched by Root
Root has patched CVE-2016-1000223 in the @rootio/jws package for Root:npm. Multiple fixed versions available.
- Record
ROOT-APP-NPM-CVE-2016-1000223- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
jwsnpm |
before 3.0.0 | 3.0.0 |
jwsTuxCare:npm From an advisory covering 2 CVEs |
0.2.6-tuxcare.0 up to 0.2.6-tuxcare.1, plus listed versions 0.2.6 |
0.2.6-tuxcare.1 |
@rootio/jwsRoot:npm |
before 0.2.6-root.io.1 | 0.2.6-root.io.10.2.6-root.io.20.2.6-root.io.3 |
jwsRoot:npm |
before 0.2.6-aikido.3 | 0.2.6-aikido.3 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| affected, facts | ||
| first indexed | GitHub Advisories, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2016-1000223 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 8.7) in jws, published September 1, 2020. No source lists public exploit code. Fixed in jws 3.0.0.
References
github.com/brianloveswords/node-jws/commit/585d0e1e97b6747c10cf5b7689ccc5618a89b299
auth0.com/blog/2015/03/31/critical-vulnerabilities-in-json-web-token-libraries
npmjs.com/advisories/88
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-1000223
snyk.io/vuln/npm:jws:20160726