@react-native-community/cli has arbitrary OS command injection

Description

The Metro Development Server, which is opened by the React Native CLI, binds to external interfaces by default. The server exposes an endpoint that is vulnerable to OS command injection. This allows unauthenticated network attackers to send a POST request to the server and run arbitrary executables. On Windows, the attackers can also execute arbitrary shell commands with fully controlled arguments.

Basic information

Type
reviewed
Severity
critical
Advisory on GitHub
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Repository advisory
Source code
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Published (advisory)
2025-11-03 18:31:52 UTC
Updated
2026-02-05 21:38:32 UTC
GitHub reviewed
2025-11-06 17:28:29 UTC
NVD published
2025-11-03

EPSS Score

Score Percentile
11.54% 93.61%

CVSS Scores

Base score Version Severity Vector
9.8 3.1
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
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:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
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.

Identifiers

CWEs

CWE id Name
CWE-78 Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')

Credits

  • Malayke (analyst)
  • cylewaitforit (analyst)
  • liamjones (analyst)
  • conorfitch (analyst)

Affected packages (6)

Vulnerable version ranges and first patched releases as published by GitHub.

Ecosystem Package Vulnerable range First patched Vulnerable functions
npm @react-native-community/cli >= 20.0.0-alpha.0, < 20.0.0 20.0.0
npm @react-native-community/cli >= 19.0.0-alpha.0, < 19.1.2 19.1.2
npm @react-native-community/cli >= 18.0.0, < 18.0.1 18.0.1
npm @react-native-community/cli-server-api >= 20.0.0-alpha.0, < 20.0.0 20.0.0
npm @react-native-community/cli-server-api >= 19.0.0-alpha.0, < 19.1.2 19.1.2
npm @react-native-community/cli-server-api >= 18.0.0, < 18.0.1 18.0.1

References

cvelogic Threat Intelligence