CVE-2022-25865
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2022-25865 is a command injection vulnerability in the workspace-tools package that allows attackers to execute arbitrary commands on affected systems by injecting malicious flags into git fetch arguments. This affects applications using vulnerable versions of workspace-tools that call the fetchRemoteBranch function with untrusted input. The vulnerability enables remote code execution with the privileges of the running process.
💻 Affected Systems
- workspace-tools
📦 What is this software?
Workspace Tools by Microsoft
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Full system compromise allowing attackers to execute arbitrary commands, steal sensitive data, install malware, or pivot to other systems.
Likely Case
Unauthorized command execution leading to data exfiltration, privilege escalation, or deployment of malicious payloads.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper input validation and sandboxing, potentially only affecting isolated environments.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires the ability to control remote or remoteBranch parameters passed to fetchRemoteBranch. Public proof-of-concept demonstrates command injection via flag injection.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 0.18.4
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/microsoft/workspace-tools/commit/9bc7e65ce497f87e1f363fd47b8f802f3d3cd978
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Update workspace-tools to version 0.18.4 or later using npm: npm update workspace-tools@^0.18.4
2. Verify the update with: npm list workspace-tools
3. Test git operations to ensure functionality.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Input validation and sanitization
allValidate and sanitize all inputs passed to fetchRemoteBranch function before calling it.
Restrict git command execution
allRun the application with minimal privileges and in a sandboxed environment to limit impact.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict input validation for remote and remoteBranch parameters to prevent flag injection.
- Run the application in a containerized or sandboxed environment with restricted system access.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check package.json or run: npm list workspace-tools | grep workspace-toolsCheck Version:
npm list workspace-tools | grep workspace-toolsVerify Fix Applied:
Verify installed version is 0.18.4 or higher: npm list workspace-tools📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual git fetch commands with unexpected flags
- Suspicious command execution following git operations
- Error logs from workspace-tools with malformed parameters
Network Indicators:
- Unexpected outbound connections following git operations
- Data exfiltration patterns
SIEM Query:
Process execution where command contains 'git fetch' with suspicious flags or unexpected arguments🔗 References
- https://github.com/microsoft/workspace-tools/commit/9bc7e65ce497f87e1f363fd47b8f802f3d3cd978
- https://github.com/microsoft/workspace-tools/pull/103
- https://snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-JS-WORKSPACETOOLS-2421201
- https://github.com/microsoft/workspace-tools/commit/9bc7e65ce497f87e1f363fd47b8f802f3d3cd978
- https://github.com/microsoft/workspace-tools/pull/103
- https://snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-JS-WORKSPACETOOLS-2421201
