Security Resilience

CVE-2024-21896

Nodejs Node.Js 20.0.0 – 20.11.1

Published
20 February 2024
Modified
17 June 2026
CVSS Score v3.1 9.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.013 69th percentile
Risk Priority 74 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2024-21896 is a critical-severity Path Traversal: 'dir/../../filename' (CWE-27) vulnerability in Nodejs Node.Js. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Application Window Discovery (T1010); ranked in the top 31% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

The permission model protects itself against path traversal attacks by calling path.resolve() on any paths given by the user. If the path is to be treated as a Buffer, the implementation uses Buffer.from() to obtain a Buffer from the result…

more

of path.resolve(). By monkey-patching Buffer internals, namely, Buffer.prototype.utf8Write, the application can modify the result of path.resolve(), which leads to a path traversal vulnerability. This vulnerability affects all users using the experimental permission model in Node.js 20 and Node.js 21. Please note that at the time this CVE was issued, the permission model is an experimental feature of Node.js.

CWE(s)
CWE-27

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1010 Application Window Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of open application windows.
attack.mitre.org →
T1011 Exfiltration Over Other Network Medium Exfiltration
Adversaries may attempt to exfiltrate data over a different network medium than the command and control channel.
attack.mitre.org →
T1011.001 Exfiltration Over Bluetooth Exfiltration
Adversaries may attempt to exfiltrate data over Bluetooth rather than the command and control channel.
attack.mitre.org →
T1016 System Network Configuration Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may look for details about the network configuration and settings, such as IP and/or MAC addresses, of systems they access or through information discovery of remote systems.
attack.mitre.org →
T1016.001 Internet Connection Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may check for Internet connectivity on compromised systems.
attack.mitre.org →
T1021.004 SSH Lateral Movement
Adversaries may use [Valid Accounts](https://attack.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-48933Same product: Nodejs Node.Js
CVE-2026-48618Same product: Nodejs Node.Js
CVE-2025-55130Same product: Nodejs Node.Js
CVE-2026-48931Same product: Nodejs Node.Js
CVE-2024-21891Same product: Nodejs Node.Js
CVE-2023-39331Same product: Nodejs Node.Js
CVE-2023-32558Same product: Nodejs Node.Js
CVE-2025-55132Same product: Nodejs Node.Js
CVE-2026-48935Same product: Nodejs Node.Js
CVE-2026-21713Same product: Nodejs Node.Js

Affected Assets

nodejs
node.js
20.0.0 — 20.11.1 · 21.0.0 — 21.6.2

Mitigating Controls

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SI-10 Information Input Validation partial match

Input validation directly stops untrusted pathnames containing ../ sequences from being used to construct traversals outside the intended directory.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

ID.RA-01 partial match
blocks

Vulnerability identification processes will discover path traversal weaknesses during code or configuration review.

PR.AA-05 partial match
blocks

Least-privilege file permissions and access enforcement can limit the damage from a successful traversal.

PR.PS-06 partial match
blocks

Secure SDLC practices directly require input validation and path sanitization that prevent directory traversal flaws.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.8.19 Installation of software on operational systems partial match
removes
A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
blocks

Secure development lifecycle mandates input validation and path sanitization that directly prevents directory traversal.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
blocks

A.8.26 only requires that security requirements (including resilience against SQLi or buffer overflows) be identified and specified during development or acquisition; it does not itself neutralize path traversal sequences or stop exploitation of CWE-27.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
blocks

Secure architecture principles discourage unsafe path construction but do not prescribe the specific coding fix.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards require neutralizing '../' sequences and using safe file APIs, eliminating this exact weakness.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance partial match
finds

Security testing in development catches path-traversal flaws before release but does not itself implement the control.

References