Browserify version 2.18.1 introduces several dependency updates and a crucial fix, making it a worthwhile upgrade for developers using this browser-side require() tool. The core functionality remains consistent, providing a powerful way to bundle Node.js-style modules for use in web browsers. However, examining the changes between 2.18.0 and 2.18.1 reveals targeted improvements.
One key difference lies in the updated dependencies. Notably, through is updated from version 2.2.0 to 2.3.4. JSONStream jumps from version 0.4.3 to 0.6.4, indicating potential performance enhancements and bug fixes within JSON parsing. module-deps moves from 0.10.0 to 0.10.3 indicating internal improvements and most probably bug fixes. browser-pack also sees an upgrade from 0.9.1 to 0.9.2 representing more smaller bug fixes. Also, the browser-resolve dependency is modified to a git repository URL instead of a specific version.
These updates are crucial because Browserify relies heavily on its dependency ecosystem. The updated dependency versions might address bugs, improve performance, or introduce new features in how Browserify handles module resolution and bundling. Also updating to 2.18.1 might solve some dependency issues using the latest version of browser-resolve which could fix some problems when resolving modules. Developers should examine the changelogs of these updated dependencies to understand the specific benefits they bring to their Browserify workflows. If you are experiencing any problems resolving modules it's worth checking the changes to browser-resolve to see if that fixes the issues.
All the vulnerabilities related to the version 2.18.1 of the package
Incorrect Handling of Non-Boolean Comparisons During Minification in uglify-js
Versions of uglify-js prior to 2.4.24 are affected by a vulnerability which may cause crafted JavaScript to have altered functionality after minification.
Upgrade UglifyJS to version >= 2.4.24.
Regular Expression Denial of Service in uglify-js
Versions of uglify-js prior to 2.6.0 are affected by a regular expression denial of service vulnerability when malicious inputs are passed into the parse() method.
var u = require('uglify-js');
var genstr = function (len, chr) {
var result = "";
for (i=0; i<=len; i++) {
result = result + chr;
}
return result;
}
u.parse("var a = " + genstr(process.argv[2], "1") + ".1ee7;");
$ time node test.js 10000
real 0m1.091s
user 0m1.047s
sys 0m0.039s
$ time node test.js 80000
real 0m6.486s
user 0m6.229s
sys 0m0.094s
Update to version 2.6.0 or later.
Potential Command Injection in shell-quote
Affected versions of shell-quote do not properly escape command line arguments, which may result in command injection if the library is used to escape user input destined for use as command line arguments.
The following characters are not escaped properly: >,;,{,}
Bash has a neat but not well known feature known as "Bash Brace Expansion", wherein a sub-command can be executed without spaces by running it between a set of {} and using the , instead of to seperate arguments. Because of this, full command injection is possible even though it was initially thought to be impossible.
const quote = require('shell-quote').quote;
console.log(quote(['a;{echo,test,123,234}']));
// Actual "a;{echo,test,123,234}"
// Expected "a\;\{echo,test,123,234\}"
// Functional Equivalent "a; echo 'test' '123' '1234'"
Update to version 1.6.1 or later.
Potential for Script Injection in syntax-error
Versions of syntax-error prior to 1.1.1 are affected by a cross-site scripting vulnerability which may allow a malicious file to execute code when browserified.
Update to version 1.1.1 or later.