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HIGH7.5

GHSA-37ch-88jc-xwx2

path-to-regexp vulnerable to Regular Expression Denial of Service via multiple route parameters

Quick fix

GHSA-37ch-88jc-xwx2 — path-to-regexp: upgrade to the fixed version with the command below.

npm install path-to-regexp@0.1.13

Details

### Impact

A bad regular expression is generated any time you have three or more parameters within a single segment, separated by something that is not a period (`.`). For example, `/:a-:b-:c` or `/:a-:b-:c-:d`. The backtrack protection added in `path-to-regexp@0.1.12` only prevents ambiguity for two parameters. With three or more, the generated lookahead does not block single separator characters, so capture groups overlap and cause catastrophic backtracking.

### Patches

Upgrade to [path-to-regexp@0.1.13](https://github.com/pillarjs/path-to-regexp/releases/tag/v.0.1.13)

Custom regex patterns in route definitions (e.g., `/:a-:b([^-/]+)-:c([^-/]+)`) are not affected because they override the default capture group.

### Workarounds

All versions can be patched by providing a custom regular expression for parameters after the first in a single segment. As long as the custom regular expression does not match the text before the parameter, you will be safe. For example, change `/:a-:b-:c` to `/:a-:b([^-/]+)-:c([^-/]+)`.

If paths cannot be rewritten and versions cannot be upgraded, another alternative is to limit the URL length.

### References

- [GHSA-9wv6-86v2-598j](https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-9wv6-86v2-598j) - [Detailed blog post: ReDoS the web](https://blakeembrey.com/posts/2024-09-web-redos/)

Are you affected?

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Affected packages

npm/path-to-regexp
Introduced in: 0Fixed in: 0.1.13
Fixnpm install path-to-regexp@0.1.13

References