Remote Code Execution in electron
Affected versions of electron may be susceptible to a remote code execution flaw when certain conditions are met:
- The electron application is running on Windows.
- The electron application registers as the default handler for a protocol, such as
nodeapp://.
This vulnerability is caused by a failure to sanitize additional arguments to chromium in the command line handler for Electron.
MacOS and Linux are not vulnerable.
Recommendation
Update electron to a version that is not vulnerable. If updating is not possible, the electron team has provided the following guidance:
If for some reason you are unable to upgrade your Electron version, you can append -- as the last argument when calling app.setAsDefaultProtocolClient, which prevents Chromium from parsing further options. The double dash -- signifies the end of command options, after which only positional parameters are accepted.
app.setAsDefaultProtocolClient(protocol, process.execPath, [
'--your-switches-here',
'--'
])
Affected software
Click a technology to see all vulnerabilities affecting it.
| Platform | Package | Vulnerable versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| npm package | electron | >= 1.7.0, < 1.7.11, >= 1.6.0, < 1.6.16, >= 1.8.0, < 1.8.2-beta.4 | 1.7.11, 1.6.16, 1.8.2-beta.4 |
References
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-1000006
- https://electronjs.org/blog/protocol-handler-fix
- https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-w222-53c6-c86p
- https://github.com/electron/electron/releases/tag/v1.8.2-beta.4
- https://medium.com/@Wflki/exploiting-electron-rce-in-exodus-wallet-d9e6db13c374
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/43899
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/44357
- https://www.npmjs.com/advisories/563
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/102796
- CVSS vector
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H- Weakness (CWE)
CWE-78- Platform
- npm
- Package
electron- Disclosed
- 23.01.2018
- Updated
- 11.10.2026 10:22
Sources and licenses
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-w222-53c6-c86p - CC BY 4.0
Vulnerability history: electron
All published vulnerabilities of this package (npm package), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.
- Total entries
- 71
- First → latest
- 10.2017 09.2026
- Without a fix
- 0
- Exploited in attacks
- 3
Severity breakdown
- Critical 3
- High 26
- Medium 32
- Low 10
Disclosures per year
- 2017: 1
- 2018: 5
- 2019: 0
- 2020: 6
- 2021: 2
- 2022: 7
- 2023: 6
- 2024: 0
- 2025: 3
- 2026: 41
-
Remote Code Execution in electron this entry
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