Async versions 2.2.0 and 2.1.5 are both iterations of a popular JavaScript utility library designed to simplify asynchronous operations. Both versions share the same core purpose: to provide higher-order functions and established patterns for managing asynchronous code, thereby improving code readability and maintainability in JavaScript projects dealing with callbacks, promises, and other asynchronous constructs. A key dependency shared by both versions is lodash, specifically version ^4.14.0, indicating a continued reliance on lodash's utility functions for internal operations. Exploring the devDependencies reveals a comprehensive suite of tools utilized for development, testing, and building the library, encompassing testing frameworks like Mocha and Chai, linting tools like ESLint, and build tools like Rollup and Babel.
A key area of differentiation lies in the releaseDate. async@2.2.0 was released on March 25, 2017, while async@2.1.5 was tagged on February 19, 2017. This temporal difference suggests that version 2.2.0 incorporates bug fixes, performance improvements, or potentially new features implemented since 2.1.5. While the provided metadata doesn't explicitly detail these changes, developers should consult the changelog or release notes associated with version 2.2.0 to understand the specific modifications and enhancements incorporated in this release. For developers choosing between the two, opting for version 2.2.0 would generally be advisable due to its incremental improvements over its predecessor and any potential bug fixes implemented.
All the vulnerabilities related to the version 2.2.0 of the package
Prototype Pollution in async
A vulnerability exists in Async through 3.2.1 for 3.x and through 2.6.3 for 2.x (fixed in 3.2.2 and 2.6.4), which could let a malicious user obtain privileges via the mapValues() method.
