Executive brief
pnpm, a popular JavaScript package manager, contains a vulnerability where a malicious project repository can trick the software into executing unauthorized native code. By including specific configuration settings in a workspace file, an attacker can force pnpm to download and run a registry-provided binary on the user's machine during routine commands like 'pnpm install'. This could allow an attacker to steal sensitive data, access private credentials, or compromise the developer's workstation or automated build systems.
Technical details
A vulnerability in pnpm's handling of 'configDependencies' in 'pnpm-workspace.yaml' allows a repository to opt-in to the 'pacquet' native install engine without user consent. The vulnerability occurs because pnpm automatically installs these dependencies and treats their presence as authorization to delegate installation tasks to the resolved native binary. An attacker can provide a malicious repository that specifies 'pacquet' as a config dependency, causing pnpm to fetch a platform-specific binary from the registry and execute it via 'spawn()' in the context of the developer or CI user. The fix introduces a 'configDependencyInstallEngineAllowlist' that must be set in trusted user-level configuration (CLI, environment, or global config) to authorize such delegation.
Affected products
- pnpm pnpm < 10.34.2, >= 11.0.0 < 11.5.3
- pnpm @pnpm/config.reader < 10.34.2, >= 11.0.0 < 11.5.3
- pnpm @pnpm/installing.commands < 10.34.2, >= 11.0.0 < 11.5.3
Timeline
- 2026-06-15: advisory: Initial GHSA advisory published
- 2026-06-26: patched: Final patch and advisory update published