A dependency check is most useful when it fails before a deployment. That is especially true for a library used by an inventory agent, monitoring process, diagnostics endpoint, or device-management service. Those programs often collect operating-system information with more privileges than an ordinary web request needs.
CVE-2026-44724 affects the Linux implementation of networkInterfaces() in the npm package systeminformation. GitHub’s advisory says the affected range is 4.17.0 through 5.31.5 and that 5.31.6 is the patched version. On a host using NetworkManager, the vulnerable code can take an active connection profile name from nmcli output and interpolate it into shell commands. The issue is local: an attacker must be able to create or rename an active profile, but the resulting command runs with the privileges of the Node.js process that calls the function.
The first response is to update the resolved dependency. The second is to make the vulnerable range hard to reintroduce. This guide adds a small check for an npm v7-or-newer package-lock.json. The check does not call networkInterfaces(), create a NetworkManager profile, or run an exploit. It treats the lockfile as the deployment contract and rejects an affected resolved package before application code is started.
The validation run used Node.js v22.23.2 and npm 10.9.8 on Linux AMD64. A disposable lockfile resolving systeminformation@5.31.5 made the check return exit status 1. Replacing it with 5.31.6 made the same check print PASS and return zero. That paired result is the useful part of the gate: it tests the policy boundary, not just the happy path.
Confirm the affected boundary
Start with the advisory rather than a broad version range in a ticket or shell script. The GitHub advisory for CVE-2026-44724 identifies networkInterfaces() as the affected function, limits the condition to Linux with NetworkManager handling, and lists 5.31.6 as the patched release. It also assigns CVSS 7.8 with local attack vector and low privileges required.
That scope matters. Do not describe this as an unauthenticated network attack, and do not assume that every process which has the package installed is reachable through the vulnerable path. A package can be a transitive dependency, a development-only tool, or code that does not run on a NetworkManager host. Those distinctions affect incident triage. They do not make an affected production lockfile a safe default for a host-information process.
Find the resolved version first:
npm ls systeminformation --all
npm explain systeminformation
npm ls shows whether the application currently installs the package and where it sits in the dependency tree. npm explain shows why npm selected it. Run both from the directory containing the application package.json and lockfile. If CI uses npm ci, inspect the lockfile that CI actually consumes rather than a regenerated local lockfile.
A direct dependency can usually be raised deliberately in package.json, followed by the normal test suite. A transitive dependency needs a different decision: update the parent package when a compatible release exists, or use the package manager’s supported override mechanism when the application has tested that resolution. Do not edit an integrity value or a nested lockfile entry by hand.
Add a lockfile gate
Save the following as scripts/check-systeminformation-version.cjs in the repository that owns the Node.js deployment. It reads the committed npm lockfile and exits 1 if it finds an installed systeminformation package in the affected range. It only parses JSON; it does not run the application or interact with NetworkManager.
#!/usr/bin/env node
const fs = require('node:fs');
const PATCHED = [5, 31, 6];
const lockfile = process.argv[2] || 'package-lock.json';
const lock = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(lockfile, 'utf8'));
function compare(left, right) {
for (let i = 0; i < 3; i += 1) {
if (left[i] !== right[i]) return left[i] - right[i];
}
return 0;
}
function versionParts(version) {
const match = /^(\d+)\.(\d+)\.(\d+)/.exec(version);
return match ? match.slice(1).map(Number) : null;
}
const findings = [];
for (const [path, item] of Object.entries(lock.packages || {})) {
const isPackage = path === 'node_modules/systeminformation' ||
path.endsWith('/node_modules/systeminformation');
if (!isPackage || typeof item.version !== 'string') continue;
const parts = versionParts(item.version);
if (parts && parts[0] >= 4 && compare(parts, PATCHED) < 0) {
findings.push(`${path}: systeminformation@${item.version} is affected by CVE-2026-44724; require 5.31.6 or later`);
}
}
if (findings.length) {
console.error(findings.join('\n'));
process.exit(1);
}
console.log('PASS: no package-lock entry is in the affected systeminformation range >=4.17.0 through 5.31.5');
The condition includes the top-level path and nested node_modules paths. That detail is easy to miss. In an npm lockfile, a direct package appears as node_modules/systeminformation, which does not begin with a slash. A nested copy appears below another dependency, such as node_modules/<parent>/node_modules/systeminformation. Checking both shapes prevents a direct dependency from being skipped while retaining the transitive case.
The version parser intentionally considers the three numeric components. A prerelease needs a review rather than an automatic pass, because its patch status should come from the advisory and the package’s release notes. The script is also intentionally specific to this advisory. A general dependency scanner is still valuable, but a narrow gate makes the remediation requirement visible in the repository that owns the service.
Add it to the project’s scripts:
{
"scripts": {
"security:systeminformation": "node scripts/check-systeminformation-version.cjs"
}
}
Then run it after the lockfile is created and before the deployment artifact is built:
npm ci
npm run security:systeminformation
npm test
Place the version gate before the broader test command so an affected lockfile gives a short, actionable failure. Keep npm test afterward: the version boundary proves only that the resolved package is outside this advisory’s range. It cannot prove compatibility with your application’s runtime behavior.
Test both sides of the policy
Use a disposable directory for the gate test. The following commands write only a temporary lockfile and do not install lifecycle scripts:
mkdir systeminformation-gate-test
cd systeminformation-gate-test
npm init -y
cp /path/to/scripts/check-systeminformation-version.cjs .
npm install --package-lock-only --ignore-scripts systeminformation@5.31.5
node check-systeminformation-version.cjs
The validation run produced this expected rejection:
node_modules/systeminformation: systeminformation@5.31.5 is affected by CVE-2026-44724; require 5.31.6 or later
The process exited with status 1. A CI job should treat that as a failed policy check, not as a transient npm problem.
Next replace the test fixture with the patched release:
rm package-lock.json
npm install --package-lock-only --ignore-scripts systeminformation@5.31.6
node check-systeminformation-version.cjs
The same run printed:
PASS: no package-lock entry is in the affected systeminformation range >=4.17.0 through 5.31.5
That result exited zero. The test verifies that the comparison is not accidentally rejecting the stated patched boundary. Keep a small fixture like this in the repository’s ordinary test suite if the service has a dependency-update workflow; it will catch later edits that reverse the comparison or stop recognizing the direct dependency path.
Pair the update with host review
The version gate is one layer. On Linux hosts where the application calls networkInterfaces(), also identify whether NetworkManager is active and which service account runs the process. Do this as a review step in the approved environment; do not publish live connection names or internal host details in build logs.
systemctl is-active NetworkManager
systemctl show <service-unit> -p User -p Group -p DynamicUser
A service that does not need elevated privileges should not receive them solely to collect network information. Apply the usual service-hardening review: a dedicated account, a constrained filesystem view, and only the capabilities the application needs. Those controls reduce the consequence of several classes of local execution issue, but they do not replace the package update.
Finally, record the resolved version in the change review, run the service’s ordinary health checks in an authorized environment, and retain the lockfile check in CI. The useful end state is straightforward: the deployed lockfile cannot silently select an affected systeminformation version, and the update remains visible when dependencies change.