CVE-2024-21892

On Linux, Node.js ignores certain environment variables if those may have been set by an unprivileged user while the process is running with elevated privileges with the only exception of CAP_NET_BIND_SERVICE. Due to a bug in the implementation of this exception, Node.js incorrectly applies this exception even when certain other capabilities have been set. This allows unprivileged users to inject code that inherits the process's elevated privileges.

Published: 2024-02-19 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2024-21892 is rated Moderate Risk (46/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.56%). Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2024-21892

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 0.45% 0.56% +0.11%
2 2026-03-10 0.25% 0.45% +0.20%
3 2025-11-21 — 0.25% —

Full EPSS history (9 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2024-21892

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 1.8 5.9 [email protected]
7.5 3.0 HIGH
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:C)
Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
 1.1 5.8 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2024-21892

OS Trackers for CVE-2024-21892

vendor priority summary link
alpine — CVE-2024-21892: 3 source package rows (nodejs, openjdk17, openjdk21); 169 state rows across 10 repos (3.19-community, 3.19-main, 3.20-community, 3.20-main, 3.21-community, 3.21-main, 3.22-community, 3.22-main, edge-community, edge-main); fixed 10, open 159. https://security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2024-21892
debian unimportant CVE-2024-21892 unimportant priority: Debian including 1 source packages (nodejs), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2024-21892
gentoo high CVE-2024-21892: 1 GLSA(s) (202505-11), 1 atom(s) (net-libs/nodejs); latest impact high. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2024-21892
redhat high — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2024-21892
suse high CVE-2024-21892 severity important: SUSE including 72 source package names (18-16.19:nodejs18-18.19.1-150400.9.18.2, 18-16.19:npm18-18.19.1-150400.9.18.2, …), 268 product×package rows across 29 product lines (Container bci/nodejs, SUSE CaaS Platform 4.0, … (29 product lines)): Known Not Affected 182, Fixed 86. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2024-21892/
ubuntu high CVE-2024-21892 high priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (nodejs), 8 status rows across 8 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, mantic, noble, trusty, upstream, xenial): not-affected 6, ignored 1, released 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2024-21892

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2024-21892

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
nodejs node.js >= 18.0.0, < 18.19.1 cpe:2.3:a:nodejs:node.js:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
nodejs node.js >= 20.0.0, < 20.11.1 cpe:2.3:a:nodejs:node.js:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
nodejs node.js >= 21.0.0, < 21.6.2 cpe:2.3:a:nodejs:node.js:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2024-21892

URL Tags
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/03/11/1 Mailing List Third Party Advisory
https://hackerone.com/reports/2237545 Issue Tracking Third Party Advisory
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20240322-0003/ Third Party Advisory
cvelogic Threat Intelligence