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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteUse two separate checks: npm audit to find known vulnerability advisories in your project’s dependency tree, and a package-trust review to investigate suspicious names, publishers, changes, and origins. A clean audit is not proof that a package is safe, and provenance or registry signatures add evidence rather than a guarantee.
What does npm audit check?
npm audit submits dependency information to the project’s configured registry and reports known vulnerability advisories that match the dependency tree it receives. It is an advisory lookup, not a malware detector or a general certification of project safety. A package can be malicious or otherwise suspicious without appearing in an advisory report.
npm documents coverage for dependencies, devDependencies, bundledDependencies, and optionalDependencies; peerDependencies are not included. Interpret a clean result within that scope, not as a guarantee that every package used by the project has been checked. See npm’s audit guide.
How do I run a repeatable audit?
1. Start in the project with its lockfile
Run the command from the directory containing the project’s package.json and package-lock.json, or npm shrinkwrap file. npm requires a lockfile for audit by default. Without one, npm can rebuild the dependency tree, so results may differ between runs. Keeping and auditing the project lockfile makes the result more closely tied to the dependency versions the project records. See the npm audit CLI reference.
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2. Generate the report before changing dependencies
npm audit
This produces a human-readable report. To retain or process the report in automation, use:
npm audit --json
Review the report before applying fixes so you can understand what was found and preserve a baseline for comparison.
3. Triage each finding in context
For each reported issue, check the package name and affected version, severity, advisory details, dependency path, and proposed fix. The path helps identify whether the package is a direct dependency or arrives through another package. Compare the advisory’s affected conditions with how your application actually uses the dependency; severity alone does not explain your project’s exposure. Some findings require manual intervention rather than an automatic update. npm’s audit guide describes reviewing advisories and remediation.
How do I fix npm audit vulnerabilities?
First inspect npm’s suggested remediation and decide whether the version change is compatible with your project. When compatible remediations are available, npm audit fix can apply them:
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npm audit fix
npm says this command runs a full install under the hood. Review changes to both dependency manifests and the lockfile, then run the project’s tests and any relevant build or integration checks. Do not treat a major-version or forced change as a routine security patch: it may require code changes or introduce compatibility risk. If npm cannot safely resolve an issue automatically, investigate the affected dependency and follow the advisory’s recommended manual steps rather than assuming the report can always be fixed with one command. See the CLI reference.
How should I use npm audit in CI?
Advisory data can change, so npm recommends running audits regularly or adding npm audit to continuous integration. A recurring check catches newly disclosed issues in dependencies that have not changed in your repository. The --audit-level option sets the minimum severity that causes a failing exit code; it does not remove lower-severity findings from the report. Choose a threshold that fits your team’s response process, and retain visibility into the full report. See npm’s audit guide and the CLI reference.
How can I tell whether an npm package is suspicious?
Package trust review addresses risks that advisory scanning does not. npm identifies threat patterns including typosquatting or dependency confusion, account takeover, and malicious changes to existing packages. Treat the following as investigation prompts, not a deterministic checklist: a signal deserves scrutiny, but none alone proves a package is malicious.
- Check the name and scope. Compare the dependency’s exact name and scope with the package you intended to install. Look for small spelling differences or a name that could be confused with an internal or private package. npm recommends scoped packages to reduce confusion involving private package names. See npm’s threat guidance.
- Review publisher and release context. Examine the package’s repository and maintainer information, and consider whether a release or change appears consistent with the project’s history. A sudden or unexpected change is a reason to investigate, not by itself proof of compromise.
- Inspect package behavior and source. Review the code and the actions the package performs in the context of your application. Provenance and signatures do not replace this examination.
- Follow provenance links when present. Provenance can connect a published package to its source repository and build information. Check whether those links correspond to the project and release you expect. npm explicitly warns that established provenance does not guarantee a package contains no malicious code. See npm’s provenance documentation.
What do npm signatures and provenance add?
These checks address integrity and origin evidence, which are different from known-vulnerability advisories and from a review of package behavior. After installing dependencies, run:
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npm audit signatures
According to npm’s CLI reference, provenance verification requires npm CLI 9.5.0 or later, and dependencies must have been installed with npm install or npm ci. Check the current npm documentation and your installed CLI’s requirements because these features can change. Registry signatures help detect tampered package content; provenance offers evidence about source and build origin. Neither establishes that package behavior is benign. See also npm’s registry-signature documentation and provenance documentation.
How should teams compare dependency-audit tools?
If you are considering tools beyond npm’s built-in checks, compare what each actually covers rather than treating a single “clean” status as equivalent. Useful dimensions include:
- Whether peer dependencies are covered, alongside the dependency categories npm documents.
- Which advisory sources are used and how frequently their data is updated.
- Whether results are based on a lockfile and how reproducible they are.
- How the tool integrates with CI and handles failure thresholds.
- Whether proposed remediations are compatible and what changes they make to the dependency tree.
- Whether it exposes registry-integrity and provenance evidence.
These dimensions help define a team’s requirements; they do not establish that one third-party scanner performs better than another.
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