Babel plugin transform async to generator, a crucial tool for developers targeting older ECMAScript environments, saw a subtle but significant update between versions 6.1.10 and 6.1.13. Both versions offer the same core functionality: transforming ES2017 async functions into ES2015 generator functions, ensuring compatibility with JavaScript engines that don't natively support async/await syntax. This transformation allows developers to leverage the benefits of asynchronous programming while maintaining broader browser and Node.js support.
The key differences between the versions lie in their internal dependencies. Both rely on babel-helper-remap-async-to-generator, babel-plugin-syntax-async-functions, and babel-runtime, but 6.1.13 bumps the dependencies babel-helper-remap-async-to-generator and babel-plugin-syntax-async-functions from version 6.1.10 to 6.1.13. Additionally, the babel-helper-plugin-test-runner dev dependency also gets bumped up in the later version. This suggests internal improvements, bug fixes, or enhanced compatibility within the Babel ecosystem. The release date indicates only a few hours between versions. For developers using Babel, upgrading to version 6.1.13 is advisable due to potential stability and performance improvements stemming from the updated dependencies. While the changelog might not explicitly detail user-facing changes, staying current with minor versions within the same major version often brings subtle but beneficial refinements. Ensure your Babel configuration includes this plugin when targeting ES5 or ES2015 environments and utilizing async/await in your code.
All the vulnerabilities related to the version 6.1.13 of the package
Babel vulnerable to arbitrary code execution when compiling specifically crafted malicious code
Using Babel to compile code that was specifically crafted by an attacker can lead to arbitrary code execution during compilation, when using plugins that rely on the path.evaluate()or path.evaluateTruthy() internal Babel methods.
Known affected plugins are:
@babel/plugin-transform-runtime@babel/preset-env when using its useBuiltIns option@babel/helper-define-polyfill-provider, such as babel-plugin-polyfill-corejs3, babel-plugin-polyfill-corejs2, babel-plugin-polyfill-es-shims, babel-plugin-polyfill-regeneratorNo other plugins under the @babel/ namespace are impacted, but third-party plugins might be.
Users that only compile trusted code are not impacted.
The vulnerability has been fixed in @babel/traverse@7.23.2.
Babel 6 does not receive security fixes anymore (see Babel's security policy), hence there is no patch planned for babel-traverse@6.
@babel/traverse to v7.23.2 or higher. You can do this by deleting it from your package manager's lockfile and re-installing the dependencies. @babel/core >=7.23.2 will automatically pull in a non-vulnerable version.@babel/traverse and are using one of the affected packages mentioned above, upgrade them to their latest version to avoid triggering the vulnerable code path in affected @babel/traverse versions:
@babel/plugin-transform-runtime v7.23.2@babel/preset-env v7.23.2@babel/helper-define-polyfill-provider v0.4.3babel-plugin-polyfill-corejs2 v0.4.6babel-plugin-polyfill-corejs3 v0.8.5babel-plugin-polyfill-es-shims v0.10.0babel-plugin-polyfill-regenerator v0.5.3