CVE-2026-73411 Shescape: Home-directory disclosure in assignment context on Unix with Dash
An attacker can disclose the home directory path and alter command execution location by exploiting improper tilde escaping in the Shescape library.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-73411?
CVE-2026-73411 is a medium-severity vulnerability in ericcornelissen shescape, published on 12 Aug 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
Shescape is a simple shell escape library for JavaScript. Prior to 2.1.14 and 3.0.1, getEscapeFunction in src/internal/unix/dash.js fails to escape ~ after : or = when applications use the escape or escapeAll APIs on Unix with shell set to dash, or with shell set to true when Dash is the default, and interpolate the result into an assignment prefixed to a command. An attacker who controls the input can supply a value such as :~ to disclose the home-directory path and may change the location on which the command operates. This issue is fixed in versions 2.1.14 and 3.0.1.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-73411?
4 open source packages ship an affected version, including shescape.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
shescape npm | All versions | 2.1.14 |
shescape npm | All versions | 2.1.14 |
shescape npm | From 3.0.0 | 3.0.1 |
shescape npm | From 3.0.0 | 3.0.1 |
How do I fix CVE-2026-73411?
Upgrade shescape to a fixed version for your release line: 2.1.14 or 3.0.1.
Is CVE-2026-73411 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-73411 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-q53c-4prm-w95q.