CVE-2026-71319: Unauthenticated Nuxt DevTools RPC allows arbitrary command execution on the developer's host

Should you act?

Critical and remotely reachable

No known exploitation yet, but it is network-reachable without credentials. This signal is computed from CISA KEV, EPSS and CVSS data; it is not an editorial verdict.

• No confirmed exploitation. It is not in CISA’s KEV catalog and CISA’s SSVC assessment records no known exploitation. That can change quickly after a public write-up; re-check if you are affected.
• EPSS 0.6%, percentile 49: FIRST’s model estimates a 0.6% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 49% of all scored CVEs (low). EPSS is a probability, not a verdict.
• Needs a user to click or open something. Phishing makes that realistic, but it is not wormable.
• Only applies if your dependency tree includes @nuxt/devtools (npm) < 3.3.1, fixed in 3.3.1. Check your lockfile, including transitive dependencies.

What it is

Nuxt is an open-source web development framework for Vue.js. Prior to 3.3.1, Nuxt DevTools (development mode only) exposes a bidirectional RPC channel over the Vite HMR WebSocket via the nuxt:devtools:rpc plugin. On affected versions the channel has no authentication: any client that can reach the Vite HMR endpoint (ws:// : /, subprotocol vite-hmr) can call RPC methods, with no token, handshake, or origin check before the channel is established. The updateOptions(), clearOptions(), and openInEditor() methods do not enforce the ensureDevAuthToken check that the other mutating methods use. openInEditor() reads the persisted behavior.openInEditor value and passes it to the launch-editor package, which spawns it as a child process. That value is settable through the equally unauthenticated updateOptions(). An attacker who can reach the HMR port can therefore chain updateOptions('behavior', { openInEditor: ' ' }) then openInEditor(' ') to execute an arbitrary program on the developer's machine. This issue is fixed in 3.3.1.

From the GitHub advisory

Impact

Nuxt DevTools (development mode only) exposes a bidirectional RPC channel over the Vite HMR WebSocket via the nuxt:devtools:rpc plugin. On affected versions the channel has no authentication: any client that can reach the Vite HMR endpoint (ws:// : /, subprotocol vite-hmr) can call RPC methods, with no token, handshake, or origin check before the channel is established. The updateOptions(), clearOptions(), and openInEditor() methods do not enforce the ensureDevAuthToken check that the other mutating methods use.

openInEditor() reads the persisted behavior.openInEditor value and passes it to the launch-editor package, which spawns it as a child process. That value is settable through the equally unauthenticated updateOptions(). An attacker who can reach the HMR port can therefore chain updateOptions('behavior', { openInEditor: ' ' }) then openInEditor(' ') to execute an arbitrary program on the developer's machine.

The HMR port is reachable by a process on the same host, by any peer on the LAN when the dev server is bound with nuxi dev --host, or by a malicious website the developer visits while the dev server is running (a browser can open the HMR WebSocket cross-origin). Impact is limited to development environments; production builds do not run DevTools.

Patches

Weakness type: CWE-94, CWE-306.

Product: @nuxt/devtools (npm) · Assigned by: GitHub_M · Published: 2026-08-05

Affected and fixed versions

Severity scores

• Attack vector: network (remotely reachable)
• Attack complexity: low
• Privileges required: none (no login)
• User interaction: required (a user must click/open something)
• Scope: changed (can affect other components)

CVSS measures how bad a flaw is if exploited, not how likely exploitation is. Read it next to the exploitation data below.

Exploitation and urgency

• CISA KEV: not listed (no confirmed in-the-wild exploitation known to CISA).
• CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation none, automatable no, technical impact total.
• FIRST EPSS (model of 2026-10-21): 0.63% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 49.

Timeline

• 2026-08-05 — CVE record published by GitHub_M
• 2026-08-05 — GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-279x-mwfv-vcqv published (critical)
• 2026-08-07 — CVE record last updated

Sources and references

Original sources first. Version and fix details should always be confirmed against the vendor or project advisory.

Vulnerability records

1. GitHub Advisory GHSA-279x-mwfv-vcqv github.com
2. CVE.org record CVE-2026-71319 cve.org
3. NVD entry CVE-2026-71319 nvd.nist.gov

Other references from the CVE record and advisory

1. github.com github.com
2. github.com github.com
3. github.com github.com

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