CVE-2017-18869

Local integrity impact via symlink TOCTOU race

Published Jun 15, 2020 · Updated Aug 5, 2024

Time-of-check time-of-use weakness in chownr before 1.1.0 for Node.js 10.10 allows local attackers to alter ownership of unintended directories via symlink races. The package lstat-checks each child and then recursively calls chownr, allowing a pathname to be replaced by a symlink between check and use so traversal reaches an attacker-selected tree. Exploitation requires local filesystem access and a controllable race; the demonstrated consequence is unintended integrity-changing ownership modification, not direct data disclosure or service interruption.

CVSS severity2.5
Low
EPSS probability0.34%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Time-of-check time-of-use weakness in chownr before 1.1.0 for Node.js 10.10 allows local attackers to alter ownership of unintended directories via symlink races. The package lstat-checks each child and then recursively calls chownr, allowing a pathname to be replaced by a symlink between check and use so traversal reaches an attacker-selected tree. Exploitation requires local filesystem access and a controllable race; the demonstrated consequence is unintended integrity-changing ownership modification, not direct data disclosure or service interruption.

The record

CVE
CVE-2017-18869
Published
Jun 15, 2020
Updated
Aug 5, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-367, T1222.001
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jun 15, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 5, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

1.9NVDAV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N
2.5NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-367Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition
T1222.001File and Directory Permissions Modification

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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