Executive brief
SafeInstall is a security tool that intercepts and controls package manager commands (npm, pnpm, bun) to block risky installations. A flaw in its command-parsing logic allows attackers to craft shell commands that bypass this security check entirely, potentially enabling malicious code execution with developer privileges. An attacker can exploit this by injecting crafted commands into a coding agent that SafeInstall protects, leading to unauthorized package installation or execution without policy enforcement.
Technical details
The vulnerability is a protection mechanism failure (CWE-693) combined with improper case-sensitivity handling (CWE-178) in SafeInstall's agent guard shell parser. Specifically, the parser fails to recognize package-manager and registry-runner commands when they use case-variant launcher names, contain leading file-descriptor redirections, or are wrapped with shell options. Additionally, remote project scaffolding via package-manager create/init commands bypass the approval decision. This allows a crafted shell command to reach the package manager without SafeInstall policy evaluation or lifecycle-script enforcement. Attack requires a coding agent to execute attacker-controlled instructions. The fix in version 0.10.2 normalizes launcher names, parses leading redirections before classification, and routes scaffolding through the proper approval path. No active exploitation in the wild has been reported.
Affected products
- Mickdownunder SafeInstall <= 0.10.1
Timeline
- 2026-07-10: disclosed
- 2026-07-10: patched: Version 0.10.2 released with fixes