https://docs.npmjs.com/cli/v8/commands/npm-audit

https://docs.npmjs.com/cli/v8/commands/npm-outdated This will list which packages are outdated and the versions wanted to keep them updated. Note the version wanted respects the dependency version notation specified in the package.json. See dependency docs for more on this notation.

npm outdated some-package

https://docs.npmjs.com/cli/v7/commands/npm-ls

Use npm ls some-pacakge see where a package sits in the dependency tree (ie, at what depth)

https://docs.npmjs.com/cli/v6/commands/npm-update

https://docs.npmjs.com/cli/v7/commands/npm-view

npm view some-package dist-tags

You can use dist-tags to install certain versions:

npm install some-package@some-dist-tag

see also https://stackoverflow.com/a/40643555

Make sure the test suite output doesn’t belch a bunch of noise like warnings, unhandled exceptions and console logs, etc. Clean these up first so its obvious there is an issue has occurred due to a package update.

NOTE: run the JS unit tests after each package update

1. Run npm audit
2. You may want to let npm update the dependencies that don’t require manual intervention with npm audit fix

3. Manually update the top level packages one-by-one. The vulnerability is with one of their dependencies and could be resolved with a newer version.

   For top level:

   • Use npm outdated some-package.
   • Find the “Wanted” version
   • Change the version in the package.json to the “Wanted” version.
   • Run npm install to update that package.

   For below top level:

   • Running npm audit will show which dependency has the vulnerable one
   • Update that dependency.
   • Also can use npm ls to see where the package sits in the dependency tree

4. That may not work to resolve a dependency of a dependency at whatever depth it is. Try to update that dependency manually with:

   npm update some-dependency-of-a-dependency --depth 5 (npm v6 removed in newer versions)

   This probably won’t work. If it did, it would have been updated as part of npm audit fix. So, instead dig into the package-lock.json and see if there is any dependency that might prevent the update. If it looks OK, delete all instances of the package where it is listed under dependencies and run npm install. See this SO post for a nice explanation.

   1. If the vulnerability still exists after step 4…
   2. Once you’ve gone as far as you can go, build the app and run all the tests.
   3. Then smoke test in a staging environment

https://docs.npmjs.com/cli/v8/configuring-npm/package-json#dependencies