Command Injection in hot-formula-parser

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS

9.8 · CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS

• CVE-2020-6836: 2.15% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 82.13 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Versions of hot-formula-parser prior to 3.0.1 are vulnerable to Command Injection. The package fails to sanitize values passed to the parse function and concatenates it in an eval call. If a value of the formula is supplied by user-controlled input it may allow attackers to run arbitrary commands in the server. Parsing the following formula creates a test file in the present directory: "SUM([(function(){require('childprocess').execSync('touch test')})(),2])" Recommendation Upgrade to version 3.0.1 or later.

Published by the source

6 May 2020, 19:32 UTC

Last modified by the source

8 Nov 2023, 04:03 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 12:06 UTC

1. Revision 2 · amended · 26 Oct 2026

   Amended from ghsa record GHSA-rc77-xxq6-4mff

2. Revision 1 · created · 24 Oct 2026

   Published from osv record GHSA-rc77-xxq6-4mff

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2020-6836

Advisory: Command Injection in hot-formula-parser
IDs: CVE-2020-6836, GHSA-rc77-xxq6-4mff
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2020-6836 (revision 2, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 12:06 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Critical (CVSS 9.8)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: hot-formula-parser 3.0.1. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- npm hot-formula-parser: affected < 3.0.1; fixed in 3.0.1

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- `npm ls hot-formula-parser --all`: lists every installed copy and version, including transitive ones. Run in the project root after `npm ci`.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on hot-formula-parser.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-rc77-xxq6-4mff (OSV record GHSA-rc77-xxq6-4mff lists affected ranges: npm hot-formula-parser >=0 <3.0.1 (fixed))
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-rc77-xxq6-4mff (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-rc77-xxq6-4mff lists affected ranges: npm hot-formula-parser >=0 <3.0.1)

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