mediumVulnerability

GHSA-q53c-4prm-w95q

### Impact This impacts users of Shescape on Unix systems that explicitly configure `shell` to Dash, or `true` when the default shell is Dash, using the `escape` and `escapeAll` APIs in assignments prefixed to a command. An attacker may be able to obtain the location of the home directory and, depending on how it is used, change the location on which a command operates in unexpected ways. ```javascript import * as cp from "node:child_process"; import { Shescape } from "shescape"; // 1. Prerequisites const options = { shell: "dash", // Or shell: true, // Only if the default shell is Dash }; // 2. Payload const payload = ":~"; // 3. Usage const shescape = new Shescape(options); let escapedPayload; escapedPayload = shescape.escape(payload); // Or escapedPayload = shescape.escapeAll([payload]); // And (example) const result = cp.execSync(`V=${escapedPayload}; echo $V`, options); // 4. Impact console.log(result.toString()); // Outputs ":" followed by the user's home directory ``` ### Patches This bug has been patched in [v2.1.14] and [v3.0.1] which you can upgrade to now. If you are already using v3 of Shescape, no further changes are required. If you are using v2 of Shescape it is recommended to upgrade as this version reaches end-of-life status on 2026-09-28, follow the [migration guide] to upgrade to v3. No patches will be released for version of Shescape lower than v2.0.0. ### Workarounds Alternatively, users of Shescape can 1) refrain from using Dash, 2) use the `env` option of the `node:child_process` API to inject variables with untrusted values instead, or 3) remove all instances of `~` from untrusted inputs. ### For more information - Comment on Pull Request [#2651] for v2 and [#2649] for v3 - Comment on commit [b4b34c3] for v2 and [43d70b5] for v3 - Open an issue at <https://github.com/ericcornelissen/shescape/issues> (New issue > Question)

Properties

ghsa_id
GHSA-q53c-4prm-w95q
severity
medium
summary
Shescape: Home-directory disclosure in assignment context on Unix with Dash
cve_id
GHSA-q53c-4prm-w95q
is_ghsa_only
true
ghsa_published
2026-07-24T22:34:39Z
source_url
https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-q53c-4prm-w95q
ghsa_updated
2026-07-24T22:34:40Z

Related Entities (5)

REPORTED_BY (1)

[Source]GitHub Advisory Database

VULNERABLE_TO (1)

[Software]npm/shescape

AFFECTS (1)

[Software]npm/shescape

HAS_WEAKNESS (2)

[Weakness]Improper Encoding or Escaping of Output
[Weakness]Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor

Explore deeper with Ninja Signal's threat intelligence graph