JVN#00324715: Electron may insecurely load Node modules

Electron is a software framework for developing cross-platformm desktop applications with web technologies, such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript with Chromium and Node.js. Electron is used in applications such as Atom editor, Microsoft Visual Studio Code, etc…
Electron contains a flaw where the search path for loading Node modules is not restricted properly. This exists due to a flaw in the processing of the ‘require’ function. When this function is processed, all parent folders for the directory where the module exists is added to the search paths. If an attacker is able to place a malicious Node module in a resulting search path on the victim’s system, this Node module will be loaded.

Impact

Loading a malicious Node module placed by an attacker may result in arbitrary programs being executed with the privileges that the application using Electron.

Solution

Update Electron and re-build the application
Developers of applications that use Electron should update Electron and re-build the application.

Products Affected

• Electron versions prior to 0.33.5