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GHSA-9jxc-qjr9-vjxq

GitHub Security Advisory

electron-updater Code Signing Bypass on Windows

✓ GitHub Reviewed HIGH Has CVE

Advisory Details

### Observations
The file `packages/electron-updater/src/windowsExecutableCodeSignatureVerifier.ts` implements the signature validation routine for Electron applications on Windows. It executes the following command in a new shell (`process.env.ComSpec` on Windows, usually `C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe`):

https://github.com/electron-userland/electron-builder/blob/140e2f0eb0df79c2a46e35024e96d0563355fc89/packages/electron-updater/src/windowsExecutableCodeSignatureVerifier.ts#L35-L41

Because of the surrounding shell, a first pass by `cmd.exe` expands any environment variable found in command-line above.

### Exploitation

This creates a situation where `verifySignature()` can be tricked into validating the certificate of a different file than the one that was just downloaded. If the step is successful, the malicious update will be executed even if its signature is invalid.

### Impact

This attack assumes a compromised update manifest (server compromise, Man-in-the-Middle attack if fetched over HTTP, Cross-Site Scripting to point the application to a malicious updater server, etc.).

### Patch

This vulnerability was patched in #8295, by comparing the path in the output of `Get-AuthenticodeSignature` with the intended one. The patch is available starting from 6.3.0-alpha.6.

Affected Packages

npm electron-updater
Affected versions: 0 (fixed in 6.3.0-alpha.6)

Related CVEs

Key Information

GHSA ID
GHSA-9jxc-qjr9-vjxq
Published
July 9, 2024 5:48 PM
Last Modified
July 12, 2024 7:20 PM
CVSS Score
7.5 /10
Primary Ecosystem
npm
Primary Package
electron-updater
GitHub Reviewed
✓ Yes

Dataset

Last updated: July 10, 2025 6:27 AM

Data from GitHub Advisory Database. This information is provided for research and educational purposes.