Run Node.js as non-root user

TL;DR: There is a common scenario where Node.js runs as a root user with unlimited permissions. For example, this is the default behaviour in Docker containers. It’s recommended to create a non-root user and either bake it into the Docker image (examples given below) or run the process on this users’ behalf by invoking the container with the flag “-u username”
Otherwise: An attacker who manages to run a script on the server gets unlimited power over the local machine (e.g. change iptable and re-route traffic to his server)