GHSA-h5vj-f7r9-w564
Entropy Backdoor in text-qrcode
GHSA-h5vj-f7r9-w564 is a critical vulnerability (CVSS 9.8) in text-qrcode, published September 1, 2020. No source lists public exploit code. No source names a fixed version.
- Severity
- 9.8 CriticalCVSS 3.1, GitHub Advisories
- Exploit chance
- UnscoredNo EPSS score yet
- Exploitation
- None knownNot on CISA’s or ENISA’s lists
- Fixed in
- No fix listedNo source names one
Description
All versions of text-qrcode contain malicious code that overwrites the randomBytes method for the crypto module with a function that generates weak entropy. Instead of generating 32 bytes, the infected randomBytes will generate 3 bytes of entropy and hash them, resulting in a 32 byte value being returned, but one that is easily guessable.
Recommendation
Uninstall text-qrcode immediately. If the module was used to generate entropy that is load bearing, all such instances of generated entropy must be replaced. This includes things like bitcoin wallets, private keys, encrypted messages, etc.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
text-qrcodenpm | 0.0.0 and later | None known |
What each source reports
GitHub Advisories Score used
Entropy Backdoor in text-qrcode
All versions of text-qrcode contain malicious code that overwrites the randomBytes method for the crypto module with a function that generates weak entropy. Instead of generating 32 bytes, the infected randomBytes will generate 3 bytes of entropy and hash them, resulting in a 32 byte value being returned, but one that is easily guessable.
Recommendation
Uninstall text-qrcode immediately. If the module was used to generate entropy that is load bearing, all such instances of generated entropy must be replaced. This includes things like bitcoin wallets, private keys, encrypted messages, etc.
- Record
GHSA-h5vj-f7r9-w564- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-506
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
Entropy Backdoor in text-qrcode
All versions of text-qrcode contain malicious code that overwrites the randomBytes method for the crypto module with a function that generates weak entropy. Instead of generating 32 bytes, the infected randomBytes will generate 3 bytes of entropy and hash them, resulting in a 32 byte value being returned, but one that is easily guessable.
Recommendation
Uninstall text-qrcode immediately. If the module was used to generate entropy that is load bearing, all such instances of generated entropy must be replaced. This includes things like bitcoin wallets, private keys, encrypted messages, etc.
- Record
GHSA-h5vj-f7r9-w564- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-506
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| first indexed | GitHub Advisories, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.