@babel/runtime is a crucial package for Babel users, supplying modular runtime helpers that enable compiled JavaScript code to function correctly across diverse environments. Comparing versions 7.18.6 and 7.18.3 exposes subtle yet important updates. Both versions share the same core description, dependencies on regenerator-runtime, MIT license, GitHub repository location, and authorship by the Babel Team. This continuity provides stability and assurance for developers already relying on @babel/runtime.
However, a key difference lies in their release dates. Version 7.18.6 was published on June 27, 2022, while version 7.18.3 was released on May 25, 2022, marking a roughly one-month gap. This indicates ongoing maintenance and likely bug fixes or minor enhancements within the newer version. The file count remains consistent at 193 files for both versions, but there is a slight variation in the unpacked size. Version 7.18.6 is marginally larger at 201106 bytes compared to 201084 bytes of version 7.18.3. This difference, although small, suggests potential additions or adjustments to the runtime helpers. Developers should consider upgrading to version 7.18.6 to benefit from these improvements and ensure they're using the most up-to-date and refined runtime support for their Babel-compiled code. Staying current with these releases strengthens the reliability and compatibility of JavaScript applications.
All the vulnerabilities related to the version 7.18.6 of the package
Babel has inefficient RegExp complexity in generated code with .replace when transpiling named capturing groups
When using Babel to compile regular expression named capturing groups, Babel will generate a polyfill for the .replace method that has quadratic complexity on some specific replacement pattern strings (i.e. the second argument passed to .replace).
Your generated code is vulnerable if all the following conditions are true:
.replace method on a regular expression that contains named capturing groups.replaceIf you are using @babel/preset-env with the targets option, the transform that injects the vulnerable code is automatically enabled if:
You can verify what transforms @babel/preset-env is using by enabling the debug option.
This problem has been fixed in @babel/helpers and @babel/runtime 7.26.10 and 8.0.0-alpha.17, please upgrade. It's likely that you do not directly depend on @babel/helpers, and instead you depend on @babel/core (which itself depends on @babel/helpers). Upgrading to @babel/core 7.26.10 is not required, but it guarantees that you are on a new enough @babel/helpers version.
Please note that just updating your Babel dependencies is not enough: you will also need to re-compile your code.
If you are passing user-provided strings as the second argument of .replace on regular expressions that contain named capturing groups, validate the input and make sure it does not contain the substring $< if it's then not followed by > (possibly with other characters in between).
This vulnerability was reported and fixed in https://github.com/babel/babel/pull/17173.