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Medium, CVSS 5.3amended

yargs-parser Vulnerable to Prototype Pollution

CVE-2020-7608GHSA-p9pc-299p-vxgp

What to do

Vendor fix available. Upgrade each affected package to the fixed version on its release line (yargs-parser 18.1.1, 15.0.1, 13.1.2, 5.0.1), redeploy, then verify what is actually installed.

This page has no inventory attached, so it cannot say whether you are affected. A vendor fix is not proof that your deployment is fixed.

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Affected packages

  • npm yargs-parser

    Affected
    >= 6.0.0, < 13.1.2>= 14.0.0, < 15.0.1<= 5.0.0>= 16.0.0, < 18.1.1
    Fixed in
    13.1.2, 15.0.1, 18.1.1, 5.0.1

Sources

Severity and exploitation
Exploitation
No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.
CVSS
5.3 · CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
EPSS
  • CVE-2020-7608: 0.51% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 43.89 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.
Source description

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Affected versions of yargs-parser are vulnerable to prototype pollution. Arguments are not properly sanitized, allowing an attacker to modify the prototype of Object, causing the addition or modification of an existing property that will exist on all objects. Parsing the argument --foo.proto.bar baz' adds a bar property with value baz to all objects. This is only exploitable if attackers have control over the arguments being passed to yargs-parser. Recommendation Upgrade to versions 13.1.2, 15.0.1, 18.1.1 or later.

Dates and revisions
Published by the source
Last modified by the source
Source last checked
  1. Revision 2 · amended ·

    Amended from ghsa record GHSA-p9pc-299p-vxgp

  2. Revision 1 · created ·

    Published from osv record GHSA-p9pc-299p-vxgp

Agent brief

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2020-7608

Advisory: yargs-parser Vulnerable to Prototype Pollution
IDs: CVE-2020-7608, GHSA-p9pc-299p-vxgp
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2020-7608 (revision 2, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 12:16 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Medium (CVSS 5.3)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: yargs-parser 18.1.1, 15.0.1, 13.1.2, 5.0.1. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- npm yargs-parser: affected >= 6.0.0, < 13.1.2; >= 14.0.0, < 15.0.1; <= 5.0.0; >= 16.0.0, < 18.1.1; fixed in 13.1.2, 15.0.1, 18.1.1, 5.0.1

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- `npm ls yargs-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 yargs-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-p9pc-299p-vxgp (OSV record GHSA-p9pc-299p-vxgp lists affected ranges: npm yargs-parser >=6.0.0 =14.0.0 =16.0.0 =0 <5.0.1 (fixed))
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-p9pc-299p-vxgp (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-p9pc-299p-vxgp lists affected ranges: npm yargs-parser >=6.0.0 =14.0.0 =0 =16.0.0 <18.1.1)

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