Babel plugin transform ES2015 modules to CommonJS, enabling compatibility with older JavaScript environments. Version 6.16.0, released on September 28, 2016, offers updated compatibility and internal improvements over the prior stable version 6.14.0, released August 24, 2016. The primary functional difference lies in the updated dependencies. Both versions share the same core functionality converting ES2015 module syntax (import/export) into CommonJS modules (require/exports), crucial for running modern JavaScript code in Node.js or older browsers that don't natively support ES modules.
A key upgrade in v6.16.0 involves dependencies on babel-types and babel-template, now requiring version ^6.16.0, compared to ^6.14.0 in the older version. This means v6.16.0 incorporates refined type definitions and templating capabilities, potentially addressing bugs or improving performance related to code transformations. Notably, babel-runtime and babel-plugin-transform-strict-mode dependencies remain consistent, indicating stability in those areas. While both depend on "babel-helper-plugin-test-runner":"^6.8.0", suggesting continuous robust testing. Developers should upgrade to version 6.16.0 for the enhanced type handling and templating, ensuring optimal compatibility and benefiting from recent bug fixes present. If you're sticking to an older Babel version, 6.14.0 remains a viable choice, but for projects using newer Babel features or requiring the most reliable ES module to CommonJS transpilation, v6.16.0 is recommended.
All the vulnerabilities related to the version 6.16.0 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