Browserify, a powerful tool for creating browser-compatible modules using the Node.js 'require' syntax, saw a minor version bump from 4.1.1 to 4.1.2 on May 10th, 2014. While both versions share the same core functionality and author, James Halliday, the update introduces a subtle yet potentially important refinement in its dependencies.
Specifically, version 4.1.2 updated its dependency on the umd package from ~2.0.0 to ~2.1.0. This suggests that developers using Browserify should see improved compatibility and adherence to the Universal Module Definition specification, a popular pattern for creating JavaScript modules that can be used in multiple environments (browsers, Node.js, etc). The library dependencies are always very important when you consider using the library in your projects.
Both versions bundle essential dependencies such as url, glob, xtend, buffer, resolve, and readable-stream, indicating a robust and comprehensive set of tools for browser-side module management. They also include development dependencies useful for testing and extending Browserify like seq, tap, dnode, es6ify, mkdirp, through, backbone, coffeeify, coffee-script, and browser-unpack. Developers upgrading from 4.1.1 to 4.1.2 should ensure their projects remain compatible with the updated umd package, benefiting from potential improvements in module interoperability. The update highlights the continued commitment to refining Browserify and ensure the best developer experience. Each version is released with an MIT license and available in the github repository. One extra dependency can create incompatibility issues so developer should proceed with caution.
All the vulnerabilities related to the version 4.1.2 of the package
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.
Regular Expression Denial of Service in minimatch
Affected versions of minimatch are vulnerable to regular expression denial of service attacks when user input is passed into the pattern argument of minimatch(path, pattern).
var minimatch = require(“minimatch”);
// utility function for generating long strings
var genstr = function (len, chr) {
var result = “”;
for (i=0; i<=len; i++) {
result = result + chr;
}
return result;
}
var exploit = “[!” + genstr(1000000, “\\”) + “A”;
// minimatch exploit.
console.log(“starting minimatch”);
minimatch(“foo”, exploit);
console.log(“finishing minimatch”);
Update to version 3.0.2 or later.
minimatch ReDoS vulnerability
A vulnerability was found in the minimatch package. This flaw allows a Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) when calling the braceExpand function with specific arguments, resulting in a Denial of Service.
Prototype Pollution in minimist
Affected versions of minimist are vulnerable to prototype pollution. Arguments are not properly sanitized, allowing an attacker to modify the prototype of Object, causing the addition or modification of an existing property that will exist on all objects.
Parsing the argument --__proto__.y=Polluted adds a y property with value Polluted to all objects. The argument --__proto__=Polluted raises and uncaught error and crashes the application.
This is exploitable if attackers have control over the arguments being passed to minimist.
Upgrade to versions 0.2.1, 1.2.3 or later.
Prototype Pollution in minimist
Minimist prior to 1.2.6 and 0.2.4 is vulnerable to Prototype Pollution via file index.js, function setKey() (lines 69-95).
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.