CVE-2017-16042: Growl adds growl notification support to nodejs

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CRITICAL 9.8REMOTEUPGRADE

CVE-2017-16042 is a critical-severity flaw (CVSS 9.8) affecting growl. Below: why it ranks where it does, which versions are affected, what to do, and the exact commands.

Growl adds growl notification support to nodejs. Growl before 1.10.2 does not properly sanitize input before passing it to exec, allowing for arbitrary command execution.

Why this priority

Critical severity
EPSS top 8%: very likely to be exploited
Remotely exploitable, no login, no user action

A fixed release or distro patch exists.

Risk facts

CVSS score	9.8 (Critical)
Attack vector	Network (remote)
Attack complexity	Low
Privileges needed	None
User interaction	None
EPSS exploit chance	4.6% (top 8%)
CISA exploited list	No
Weakness	CWE-94, CWE-78
Published	2018-06-04
Last modified	2026-06-17

Publisher (CNA): HackerOne · Vendor: growl project

Last updated 2026-06-17 · Sources: CVE Program, NVD, CISA KEV, EPSS and vendor advisories · How we score

Am I affected?

Timeline

2018-06-04 19:29 UTCPublished CVE record published
2026-06-17 01:08 UTCUpdated Record last modified

growl project growl UPGRADE

Affected: < 1.10.2

Fixed in: 1.10.2

Safe to downgrade to: no unaffected older release

1. Check installed version

npm ls growl

2. UPGRADE to 1.10.2

npm install growl@">=1.10.2"

Verify at the official source NVD · CVE Program · Report a problem with this page
Scores and fixes here are computed automatically from those and other public sources. Confirm with the vendor advisory before changing production systems.

Quick answers

How do I fix CVE-2017-16042?

growl: upgrade to 1.10.2. Exact commands for each OS are on this page.

Is CVE-2017-16042 being exploited?

CVE-2017-16042 is not on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list at the time of the last update. Check again, as this can change.

What does CVE-2017-16042 affect?

CVE-2017-16042 affects growl. Severity is critical (CVSS 9.8). Growl adds growl notification support to nodejs. Growl before 1.10.2 does not properly sanitize input before passing it to exec, allowing for arbitrary command execution.

How urgent is CVE-2017-16042?

Priority 62/100. Critical severity; EPSS top 8%: very likely to be exploited; Remotely exploitable, no login, no user action

Software pages

Node.js vulnerabilities

References

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