In an era where software vulnerabilities are as common as coffee shops, hackers have found their latest favorite hangout: the Metro Development Server’s security flaw, affectionately known as Metro4Shell. This delightful little bug, nestled comfortably within the beloved ‘@react-native-community/cli’ npm package, has opened its arms wide to welcome unauthorized guests with the ease of a five-star hotel concierge.

The vulnerability, which has been granted a CVSS score of 9.8—akin to a cyber high-five for its impeccable career in computing chaos—has earned its stripes by granting remote unauthenticated attackers the power to execute arbitrary code. It’s like a ‘freedom pass’ for hackers who prefer their exploits without the hindrance of pesky authentication barriers.

VulnCheck, the cybersecurity company with a fondness for hunting down digital gremlins, spotted this wild act of vulnerability abuse on December 21, 2025. While most people were cozying up for the holiday season, these tech-savvy scrooges were unwrapping their gift of unauthorized access, proving once again that the true spirit of the holidays is best celebrated with a major security breach.

Though in an attempt to maintain a positive outlook, perhaps this flaw will democratize software development by allowing everyone, regardless of technical prowess, to participate in the noble pursuit of tweaking code for better or for worse. After all, why should only those boring developers have all the fun?