Arbitrary Command Injection

published 2021-03-15 5 y ago modified 2026-06-17 4 mo ago also GHSA-7qmm-q394-fmch , EUVD-2021-0626

cvss: 5.6; version 3.1, CNA
cisa kev: Not listed; not in CISA's catalog
epss: 1.2%; EPSS 1.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 68%
public exploits: 0; none known

This affects all versions of package ps-kill. If (attacker-controlled) user input is given to the kill function, it is possible for an attacker to execute arbitrary commands. This is due to use of the child_process exec function without input sanitization in the index.js file. PoC (provided by reporter): var ps_kill = require('ps-kill'); ps_kill.kill('$(touch success)',function(){});

Exploit prediction

1.20% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 68% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).

Exploits and checks

snyk.io https://snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-JS-PSKILL-1078529 referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified

CVSS scores

assigned by	version	score	vector
CNA	3.1	5.6	CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L/E:P
CNA	3.1	5.6	CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
NVD	3.1	9.8	CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD	2.0	7.5	AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
GitHub	3.1	9.8	CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected packages

ecosystem	package	affected	fixed in
npm	ps-kill	<=1.0.0	no fix listed

Affected products

n/a ps-kill

Classification

Weakness

CWE-78 Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command
CWE-77 Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command

References

snyk.io /vuln/SNYK-JS-PSKILL-1078529
web, exploit, third-party-advisory
nvd.nist.gov /vuln/detail/CVE-2021-23355
advisory

Sources

Fencer Vulns keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.

Summary