CVE-2026-50016 pnpm: Transitive dependency alias path traversal allows project path override via symlink replacement
A malicious registry package can use path traversal in dependency aliases to replace project files with symlinks, potentially leading to code execution or data modification.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- A user has to click or open something
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-50016?
CVE-2026-50016 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in pnpm, published on 25 Jun 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Official description
pnpm is a package manager. Prior to 10.34.0 and 11.4.0, pnpm allows a transitive dependency alias from registry package metadata to contain path traversal segments. During install, pnpm later uses that alias as a filesystem path when linking dependency nodes. As a result, a registry package can cause `pnpm install --ignore-scripts` to replace paths in the current project with symlinks to attacker-controlled dependency package directories. This vulnerability is fixed in 10.34.0 and 11.4.0.
Weakness: CWE-23
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-50016?
4 open source packages ship an affected version, including pnpm. It affects 1 product.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
pnpm npm | All versions | 10.34.0 |
pnpm npm | All versions | 10.34.0 |
pnpm npm | From 11.0.0 | 11.4.0 |
pnpm npm | From 11.0.0 | 11.4.0 |
Products include Pnpm Pnpm.
How do I fix CVE-2026-50016?
Upgrade pnpm to a fixed version for your release line: 10.34.0 or 11.4.0.
Upgrade, and resolve every user-supplied path against an allowed base folder before opening it. More about Path traversal.
Is CVE-2026-50016 being exploited?
It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-50016 exists.
Other vulnerabilities in pnpm
- CVE-2026-55698 pnpm: Project env lockfile can short-circuit package-manager resolution and execute lockfile-selected pnpm bytes
- CVE-2025-69264 pnpm v10+ Bypass "Dependency lifecycle scripts execution disabled by default"
- CVE-2022-26183 Untrusted Search Path in PNPM
- CVE-2026-59195 pnpm: Path traversal in configDependencies env lockfile allows symlink creation outside node_modules/.pnpm-config
- CVE-2025-69262 pnpm vulnerable to Command Injection via environment variable substitution
Sources
Also known as GHSA-hwx4-2j3j-g496, MINI-575j-vrf4-7vp8, ROOT-APP-NPM-CVE-2026-50016.