GHSA-72R4-9C5J-MJ57: Arbitrary File Deletion via Path Traversal in pnpm patch-remove

Vulnerability ID: GHSA-72R4-9C5J-MJ57
CVSS Score: 7.1
Published: 2026-06-27

A path traversal vulnerability in the pnpm package manager's 'patch-remove' command allows an attacker to delete arbitrary files outside the patches directory. By manipulating configuration files like package.json, an attacker can specify a traversal path that the application deletes recursively without validating the path's containment.

TL;DR

The pnpm package manager failed to validate file paths in its 'patch-remove' routine. A malicious actor could exploit this by embedding directory traversal sequences in the project's configuration, leading to arbitrary file deletion when a user or CI/CD runner executed the command.

⚠️ Exploit Status: POC

Technical Details

CWE ID: CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory)
Attack Vector: Local / Context-dependent execution of malicious workspace files
CVSS Severity: 7.1 (High Severity Recommendation)
Exploit Status: Concept-proven (PoC verified in test cases)
Impact Type: Arbitrary File and Folder Deletion
KEV Status: Not Listed

Affected Systems

pnpm command-line interface
@pnpm/plugin-commands-patching node module
@pnpm/patching.commands node module
pnpm: < 10.0.0 (and versions without the containment patch) (Fixed in: v10.x (patched releases))
@pnpm/plugin-commands-patching: < 10.0.0

Code Analysis

Commit: 612a2e6

fix: contain patch-remove deletions (#12341)

Commit: 352ae48

Backport containment fixes to release/10 (PR #12504)

Mitigation Strategies

Upgrade the pnpm installation to a patched version
Implement workspace configuration auditing in pull requests
Containerize CI/CD pipeline executions to limit host access
Restrict workspace filesystem write permissions

Remediation Steps:

Identify the current pnpm version in use by running 'pnpm --version'
Update pnpm to a patched version using 'npm install -g pnpm' or the system package manager
Verify that the updated installation handles patch-remove safely by running a test validation
Configure automated repository checks to block unauthorized changes to 'patchedDependencies'