Babel preset stage-3 version 6.17.0 introduces a significant update over its predecessor, version 6.16.0, primarily by incorporating enhanced support for asynchronous JavaScript features. The key difference lies in the addition of babel-plugin-transform-async-generator-functions as a dependency in version 6.17.0. This new plugin enables developers to utilize async generator functions, a powerful addition to asynchronous programming in JavaScript, allowing for more streamlined and readable asynchronous code. Async generators provide a way to generate a sequence of values asynchronously, simplifying complex asynchronous workflows.
For developers working with cutting-edge JavaScript features, this update is crucial. While both versions include essential plugins like babel-plugin-syntax-trailing-function-commas, babel-plugin-transform-async-to-generator, and babel-plugin-transform-exponentiation-operator, version 6.17.0 expands capabilities with async generator support. The upgrade from 6.16.0 empowers developers to leverage the latest JavaScript syntax and functionalities, particularly beneficial for projects involving asynchronous data streams, complex event handling, or reactive programming. Developers aiming to write modern, efficient, and maintainable asynchronous code should consider updating to version 6.17.0 to take full advantage of the improved toolset. Remember to consider the compatibility for the intended environments and the output code generated for those environments, as this specific Babel Stage represents implemented features in JavaScript standard proposal, so is recommended only for latest browsers.
All the vulnerabilities related to the version 6.17.0 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