Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This CVE describes a malicious Node.js module that steals sensitive local data during installation, including private SSH keys and bash history. The business risk is credential exposure from developer or CI systems where the affected package was installed.
Executive priority
Treat this as a credential-compromise risk, not a routine software bug. Prioritize identifying where the package was installed and rotating exposed credentials.
Technical view
CVE-2017-16202 is classified as CWE-506, embedded malicious code. The source bundle states that the cofeescript module, listed as the coffeescript node module version 1.0.1, exfiltrates sensitive data to a third-party server during installation.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on developer workstations, build agents, or CI environments that installed the affected Node.js module version 1.0.1.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show KEV listing or independent evidence of active exploitation. However, the described package behavior is inherently malicious because installation itself triggers sensitive-data exfiltration.
Researcher notes
The bundle has naming ambiguity: the title says cofeescript, while affected product text says coffeescript node module. Validate exact package records locally and avoid assuming broader CoffeeScript ecosystem impact without source evidence.
Mitigation direction
- Remove the affected module from all projects and build environments.
- Check vendor advisory guidance before assuming a fixed version exists.
- Rotate potentially exposed SSH keys and other credentials from affected systems.
- Rebuild affected developer or CI environments from trusted baselines.
- Review dependency sources for typosquatted or unexpected packages.
Validation and detection
- Search package manifests and lockfiles for the affected module and version 1.0.1.
- Review CI and developer installation history for the affected package.
- Identify systems that held SSH keys or shell history during installation.
- Check logs for unexpected outbound connections during package installation.
- Confirm credential rotation for accounts accessible from affected keys.
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-506: 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 lookupCVE-2017-16202 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/541CVE 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.
Embedded Malicious Code
Embedded Malicious Code represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.