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…
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.
- Published by source
- 2023-02-23
- First seen by Reality Radar
- 2026-10-24
- Last verified
- 2026-10-24
Affected
- Manufacturer
- nodejs
- Products
- node.js
- Versions
- <=14.14.0 <14.21.3 <=16.12.0 <16.19.1 <=18.11.0 <18.14.1 <19.6.1
- CPE
- cpe:2.3:a:nodejs:node.js:*:*:*:*:-:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:nodejs:node.js:*:*:*:*:lts:*:*:*
Whether your exact unit is affected depends on the model, serial number and region in the official notice.
What the official notice says
Risk: CVSS 7.5
Is this affecting you?
Add what you own or use and Reality Radar will tell you when official changes match it — with evidence and next steps.
Sources
- NIST National Vulnerability Database Tier A · official published 2023-02-23
Evidence ledger
Every piece of evidence we store is appended to a public hash chain, so later edits are detectable. Anyone can re-verify it.
| Entry | Kind | Observed | Evidence hash | Entry hash |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1583 | new | 2026-10-24 | 8951fc2e6d94…7a2e6e | 8435628ecb43…858d3f |
Chain head: #1609 a9149670ca39…bb921c