CVE-2016-10541
Potential Command Injection in shell-quote
CVE-2016-10541 is a critical vulnerability (CVSS 9.8) in Shell-quote Project Shell-quote, published May 31, 2018. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 2.20%, the 82nd percentile. Fixed in shell-quote 1.6.1.
- Severity
- 9.8 CriticalCVSS 3.1, NVD
- Exploit chance
- 2.20%EPSS, 82nd percentile
- Exploitation
- None knownNot on CISA’s or ENISA’s lists
- Fixed in
1.6.1shell-quote +1 more
Description
The npm module "shell-quote" 1.6.0 and earlier cannot correctly escape ">" and "<" operator used for redirection in shell. Applications that depend on shell-quote may also be vulnerable. A malicious user could perform code injection.
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
Exploit likelihood
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
shell-quotenpm | before 1.6.1 | 1.6.1 |
shell-quoteTuxCare:npm | 1.4.3-tuxcare.0 up to 1.4.3-tuxcare.1, plus listed versions 1.4.3 | 1.4.3-tuxcare.1 |
What each source reports
NVD Score used
The npm module "shell-quote" 1.6.0 and earlier cannot correctly escape ">" and "<" operator used for redirection in shell. Applications that depend on shell-quote may also be vulnerable. A malicious user could perform code injection.
- Record
CVE-2016-10541- 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 - CVSS 2.0
- 7.5 High
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P - Weakness
- CWE-78, CWE-94
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
CVE ListNo score
The npm module "shell-quote" 1.6.0 and earlier cannot correctly escape ">" and "<" operator used for redirection in shell. Applications that depend on shell-quote may also be vulnerable. A malicious user could perform code injection.
- Record
CVE-2016-10541- Weakness
- CWE-78
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2019-0328No score
The npm module "shell-quote" 1.6.0 and earlier cannot correctly escape ">" and "<" operator used for redirection in shell. Applications that depend on shell-quote may also be vulnerable. A malicious user could perform code injection.
- Record
EUVD-2019-0328- Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-qg8p-v9q4-gh34
Potential Command Injection in shell-quote
Affected versions of shell-quote do not properly escape command line arguments, which may result in command injection if the library is used to escape user input destined for use as command line arguments.
Proof of Concept:
The following characters are not escaped properly: >,;,{,}
Bash has a neat but not well known feature known as "Bash Brace Expansion", wherein a sub-command can be executed without spaces by running it between a set of {} and using the , instead of to seperate arguments. Because of this, full command injection is possible even though it was initially thought to be impossible.
const quote = require('shell-quote').quote;
console.log(quote(['a;{echo,test,123,234}']));
// Actual "a;{echo,test,123,234}"
// Expected "a\;\{echo,test,123,234\}"
// Functional Equivalent "a; echo 'test' '123' '1234'"
Recommendation
Update to version 1.6.1 or later.
- Record
GHSA-qg8p-v9q4-gh34- CVSS 3.0
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-78, CWE-94
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
The npm module "shell-quote" 1.6.0 and earlier cannot correctly escape ">" and "<" operator used for redirection in shell. Applications that depend on shell-quote may also be vulnerable. A malicious user could perform code injection.
- Record
CVE-2016-10541- 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 - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-qg8p-v9q4-gh34
Potential Command Injection in shell-quote
Affected versions of shell-quote do not properly escape command line arguments, which may result in command injection if the library is used to escape user input destined for use as command line arguments.
Proof of Concept:
The following characters are not escaped properly: >,;,{,}
Bash has a neat but not well known feature known as "Bash Brace Expansion", wherein a sub-command can be executed without spaces by running it between a set of {} and using the , instead of to seperate arguments. Because of this, full command injection is possible even though it was initially thought to be impossible.
const quote = require('shell-quote').quote;
console.log(quote(['a;{echo,test,123,234}']));
// Actual "a;{echo,test,123,234}"
// Expected "a\;\{echo,test,123,234\}"
// Functional Equivalent "a; echo 'test' '123' '1234'"
Recommendation
Update to version 1.6.1 or later.
- Record
GHSA-qg8p-v9q4-gh34- CVSS 3.0
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-78, CWE-94
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVCLSA-2026-1773274563No score
TuxCare security update for shell-quote (1 CVE)
TuxCare rebuilt shell-quote to address 1 CVE. Fixed in 1.4.3-tuxcare.1.
- Record
CLSA-2026-1773274563- Updated
- 2026-11-02
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| facts | ||
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.