CVE-2026-50017
Description
A flaw was found in pnpm, a package manager. This vulnerability allows pnpm to send user-level unscoped npm authentication credentials to a registry specified by a repository-local .npmrc file. During normal pnpm operations, the user's authentication token, intended for their default registry, can be inadvertently sent to a different, potentially malicious, registry. This could lead to the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive authentication tokens.
Statement
This Moderate impact information disclosure flaw in pnpm allows an attacker to obtain user-level unscoped npm authentication credentials. When a user runs pnpm commands in a repository with a malicious local .npmrc file, their authentication token, intended for their default registry, can be redirected to an attacker-controlled registry. This risk is heightened as the credential leak occurs before any package code execution, affecting Red Hat products that utilize pnpm.
Mitigation
To mitigate this issue, ensure that all npm authentication tokens are explicitly URL-scoped rather than relying on unscoped, user-level configurations. Additionally, avoid executing pnpm commands in untrusted repositories, as a malicious `.npmrc` file can redirect authentication credentials to an attacker.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 6.5 | 6.5 | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Network | Network | N/A |
| Attack Complexity | Low | Low | N/A |
| Privileges Required | Low | Low | N/A |
| User Interaction | None | None | N/A |
| Scope | Unchanged | Unchanged | N/A |
| Confidentiality | High | High | N/A |
| Integrity Impact | None | None | N/A |
| Availability Impact | None | None | N/A |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
NVD: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Confidentiality
Technical Impact: Read Files or Directories; Read Memory; Read Application Data
Sensitive data may be exposed to attackers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not sure what something means? Check out our Security Glossary.
Want to get errata notifications? Sign up here.
