pacquet, the Rust package-manager component shipped in the pnpm npm package versions >=12.0.0-alpha.0 and <12.0.0-alpha.5, does not validate dependency alias/name paths taken from a lockfile before using them in install-time filesystem joins. When a user installs a project with an attacker-supplied lockfile using --trust-lockfile or a frozen lockfile, alias entries containing path traversal segments (for example '../../escaped-link') are used when creating dependency and package links, bin destinations, hoisted entries, and virtual-store slots, allowing symlinks and directories to be created outside the intended project and node_modules boundary. Version 12.0.0-alpha.5 validates dependency names and every virtual-store slot path with a shared safe-join containment helper before any filesystem materialization, rejecting traversal, absolute, platform-specific, and reserved names with ERR_PNPM_INVALID_DEPENDENCY_NAME.
https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/pacquet-before-12.0.0-alpha.5-path-traversal-via-lockfile-alias
https://github.com/pnpm/pnpm/security/advisories/GHSA-2rx9-3g3h-c2jv
Published: 2026-09-27
Updated: 2026-09-30
Base Score: 8.5
Vector: CVSS2#AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:C/A:P
Severity: High
Base Score: 7.1
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:L
Severity: High
Base Score: 7.1
Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:H/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Severity: High
EPSS: 0.00259