@babel/runtime version 7.3.4 represents a minor update over its predecessor, version 7.3.1, in Babel's modular runtime helpers. Both versions share the same core purpose: providing pre-compiled, reusable functions, crucial for Babel's code transformations. These functions handle complex operations, enabling developers to leverage modern JavaScript features while ensuring compatibility across diverse environments.
Examining the metadata, both versions maintain identical dependency structures, relying on "regenerator-runtime": "^0.12.0" for generator function support and "@babel/helpers": "^7.3.1" as a development dependency, indicating stable interfaces for these internal components. The license remains MIT, providing developers with freedom in utilizing and distributing the package. Build settings also appear to be very similar as the number of file and unpacked size are almost the same.
The primary distinction lies in the release date: Version 7.3.4 was published on February 25, 2019, whereas version 7.3.1 appeared on January 22, 2019. This suggests that 7.3.4 likely incorporates bug fixes, performance improvements, or minor adjustments that didn't necessitate a major or minor version increment. For developers using @babel/runtime, upgrading to 7.3.4 offers the benefit of incorporating these refinements, potentially leading to more stable and efficient code execution. While the changes may not be drastic, staying current with minor releases generally ensures a smoother development experience and access to the latest refinements from the Babel team.
All the vulnerabilities related to the version 7.3.4 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.