Skip to main content
No exploitation reportedFix available

CVE-2023-23918

No exploitation reported by the sources we read.

  • Published2023-02-23
  • Fixed in19.6.1 · 18.14.1 · 16.19.1 · 14.21.3
  • WeaknessCWE-863

Am I affected?

With a domain, we read the version its public headers and pages expose. A distribution build can carry the fix under an older number.

Description

A privilege escalation vulnerability exists in Node.js <19.6.1, <18.14.1, <16.19.1 and <14.21.3 that made it possible to bypass the experimental Permissions (https://nodejs.org/api/permissions.html) feature in Node.js and access non authorized modules by using process.mainModule.require(). This only affects users who had enabled the experimental permissions option with --experimental-policy.

Timeline

dates in UTC
  1. 2023-02-2320:15CVE publishedNVD

Observed activity

isMalicious corpus · updated 2026-10-23 18:48 UTC
Indicators tagged with this CVE, per day0 indicators over 7 days
Block these indicators
  • Firewall list (EDL, text): https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2023-23918?format=txt
  • CSV export: https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2023-23918?format=csv
  • TAXII collection of exploited CVEs
  • The EDL and CSV take an API key on the Pro plan.

Versions per branch

NVD
Node.js
BranchAffectedFixed in
19.x≥ 19.0.0, < 19.6.119.6.1
18.x≥ 18.0.0, < 18.14.118.14.1
16.x≥ 16.0.0, < 16.19.116.19.1
14.x≥ 14.0.0, < 14.21.314.21.3
14.x≥ 14.0.0, ≤ 14.14.0no fix published
16.x≥ 16.0.0, ≤ 16.12.0no fix published
18.x≥ 18.0.0, ≤ 18.11.0no fix published

as publishedRanges as NVD and OSV publish them; a distribution’s build can be fixed under an older number.

Fix

  1. Update Node.js to 19.6.1 · 18.14.1 · 16.19.1 · 14.21.3

Advisories and patches

Detection

Nuclei template
none so far
ProjectDiscovery
Exploit-DB
no entry
Exploit-DB
Proof-of-concept repositories
none listed
PoC-in-GitHub

Sources

Technical details

CVSS v3 Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Published
2023-02-23
Last Modified
2026-06-17
NVD status
Modified

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-23918?

A privilege escalation vulnerability exists in Node.js <19.6.1, <18.14.1, <16.19.1 and <14.21.3 that made it possible to bypass the experimental Permissions (https://nodejs.org/api/permissions.html) feature in Node.js and access non authorized modules by using process.mainModule.require(). This only affects users who had enabled the experimental permissions option with --experimental-policy.

Is CVE-2023-23918 actively exploited?

Active exploitation of CVE-2023-23918 has not been confirmed. Its EPSS score was 2.0% on 2026-10-22, the estimated probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2023-23918?

CVE-2023-23918 has a CVSS v3 base score of 7.5 (HIGH severity), with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N.

Hear about the next vulnerability in your software

Surveillance reads the versions in your stack — a domain, a lockfile or a list — checks each CVE against the ranges its sources publish, and alerts you when one you run is exploited or enters CISA KEV. A version it cannot read stays « version not verified ».

No credit card required · No monthly cap on website lookups · 250 API requests/month