NPM Anonymous CLI Metrics Exposure

What is the NPM Anonymous CLI Metrics Exposure?

The NPM Anonymous CLI Metrics Exposure module is designed to detect a specific vulnerability related to the exposure of anonymous CLI metrics in NPM-based projects. This module targets projects utilizing NPM, a package manager for JavaScript, and aims to identify instances where anonymous CLI metrics are exposed. The severity of this vulnerability is classified as informative, indicating that it provides valuable insights but does not pose an immediate threat to the security of the project.

Impact

The exposure of anonymous CLI metrics in NPM-based projects can potentially lead to privacy concerns. These metrics may include sensitive information about the project, such as the number of successful installations or other usage statistics. Unauthorized access to these metrics could compromise the confidentiality of the project and its users.

How the module works?

The NPM Anonymous CLI Metrics Exposure module works by sending HTTP requests to specific paths within the project's file system. It looks for the presence of certain keywords in the response body and verifies that the response headers indicate the content type as "application/json".

Here is an example of an HTTP request sent by the module:

GET /.npm/anonymous-cli-metrics.json

The module uses two matching conditions to determine if the vulnerability is present:

- The first condition checks for the presence of specific keywords in the response body, including "metricId", "metrics", and "successfulInstalls". If all of these keywords are found, the condition is considered met. - The second condition verifies that the response headers contain the content type "application/json". If this condition is met, it indicates that the response contains JSON data.

When both matching conditions are satisfied, the module reports the vulnerability, alerting the user to the potential exposure of anonymous CLI metrics in their NPM-based project.