What’s Vulnerable › Vulnerabilities

CVE-2020-4075: Arbitrary file read via window-open IPC in Electron

• Severity: high (CVSS 7.5 v3.1)
• Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
• EPSS: 1.2% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
• Public exploit or detection template: none known
• Published: 2020-07-07 · updated 2026-06-17
• Weakness: CWE-552

Description

In Electron before versions 7.2.4, 8.2.4, and 9.0.0-beta21, arbitrary local file read is possible by defining unsafe window options on a child window opened via window.open. As a workaround, ensure you are calling `event.preventDefault()` on all new-window events where the `url` or `options` is not something you expect. This is fixed in versions 9.0.0-beta.21, 8.2.4 and 7.2.4.

Affected products

• electron: from 7.0.0 before 7.2.4; from 8.0.0 before 8.2.4; 9.0.0, 9.0.0-beta1, 9.0.0-beta10, 9.0.0-beta11, 9.0.0-beta12, 9.0.0-beta13 (+15) — fixed in 7.2.4, 8.2.4

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: electron 7.2.4, 8.2.4. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

• https://github.com/electron/electron/security/advisories/GHSA-f9mq-jph6-9mhm
• https://www.electronjs.org/releases/stable?page=3#release-notes-for-v824
• https://github.com/electron/electron/security/advisories/GHSA-f9mq-jph6-9mhm
• https://www.electronjs.org/releases/stable?page=3#release-notes-for-v824

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