Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Older selenium-download packages retrieved Selenium and ChromeDriver binaries over plain HTTP. A network-positioned attacker could replace those downloads with a malicious binary, potentially gaining code execution on developer machines or CI runners that use the package.
Executive priority
Treat as a targeted supply-chain risk, especially for CI/CD or developer environments. Prioritize remediation where build agents have credentials, deployment access, or access to sensitive source code.
Technical view
CVE-2016-10559 affects the selenium-download Node module before 2.0.7. The flaw is cleartext binary transport, mapped to CWE-311. The published record describes possible RCE through man-in-the-middle binary substitution when an attacker is on-path during download.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely in legacy Node.js projects, test automation scripts, or CI jobs that still depend on selenium-download versions below 2.0.7 and fetch Selenium or ChromeDriver binaries at runtime.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show known active exploitation, and the CVE is not listed as KEV. Exploitation requires attacker network positioning or another ability to intercept the HTTP binary download.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to the CVE record and Node Security advisory reference. The key condition is HTTP transport of executable binaries before version 2.0.7; do not assume broader Selenium product impact from these sources alone.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade selenium-download to 2.0.7 or later after confirming vendor guidance.
- Remove selenium-download if the project no longer uses it.
- Avoid runtime binary downloads from untrusted networks until remediated.
- Prefer trusted, integrity-controlled dependency and binary supply chains.
Validation and detection
- Search package manifests and lockfiles for selenium-download versions below 2.0.7.
- Check CI setup scripts for runtime Selenium or ChromeDriver downloads.
- Confirm runners and developer machines are not using cached vulnerable package versions.
- Document affected repositories and remediation status.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-311: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupExecution behavior lookup
The CVE wording references code or command execution, so execution technique review may help defensive triage. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2016-10559 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Unknown
- CVSS
- Not scored
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS and timeline data
No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://nodesecurity.io/advisories/164CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Missing Encryption of Sensitive Data
Missing Encryption of Sensitive Data represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.