EJS (Embedded JavaScript Templates) is a popular templating engine for JavaScript that allows developers to generate dynamic HTML, XML, or other text-based formats. Comparing versions 2.5.6 and 2.5.5, the core functionality remains consistent, focusing on providing a flexible and efficient way to embed JavaScript code within templates. The primary difference between these versions lies in their release dates and potentially internal improvements or bug fixes that aren't explicitly detailed in the metadata. Version 2.5.6 was released on February 16, 2017, while version 2.5.5 was released significantly earlier, on December 6, 2016.
For developers considering EJS, both versions offer a similar set of tools for creating dynamic content. The devDependencies section outlines the testing and development environment used, including tools like Jake for build automation, JSDoc for documentation generation, Mocha for testing, ESLint for code linting, Istanbul for code coverage, LRU-cache for caching, Uglify-js for minifying, Browserify for bundling, and git-directory-deploy for deployment, which highlights a commitment to code quality and maintainability. The Apache-2.0 license ensures flexibility for both commercial and open-source projects. However, it is generally advisable to use the newer version (2.5.6) as it likely incorporates bug fixes and minor enhancements over the older one, contributing to a more stable and reliable development experience. Regular updates often address security vulnerabilities and improve performance, making newer versions preferable when available.
All the vulnerabilities related to the version 2.5.6 of the package
ejs lacks certain pollution protection
The ejs (aka Embedded JavaScript templates) package before 3.1.10 for Node.js lacks certain pollution protection.
ejs template injection vulnerability
The ejs (aka Embedded JavaScript templates) package 3.1.6 for Node.js allows server-side template injection in settings[view options][outputFunctionName]. This is parsed as an internal option, and overwrites the outputFunctionName option with an arbitrary OS command (which is executed upon template compilation).