Flat is a utility for JavaScript developers who need to manipulate nested objects, offering the ability to flatten them into a single-level structure with delimited keys, and conversely, to unflatten such objects back into their original nested form. Both versions 4.1.0 and 4.1.1 provide this core functionality, making it easy to work with complex data structures.
Examining the two versions, the key differences lie primarily in their release dates and the subtle changes in their distributed package. Version 4.1.0 was released in July 2018, while version 4.1.1 came out in October 2020, indicating over two years of potential bug fixes, performance improvements, or minor feature enhancements within the codebase. The 'unpackedSize' in the distribution metadata also shows a slight increase from 20747 bytes in v4.1.0 to 21123 bytes in v4.1.1. This suggests that with version 4.1.1, developers can expect the newest bug fixes and some minor size additions that usually come from the new features implemented.
Both versions share the same dependencies (is-buffer) and development dependencies (mocha, standard), license (BSD-3-Clause), repository, and author information. The is-buffer dependency ensures compatibility when dealing with Buffer objects during flattening or unflattening operations. The BSD-3-Clause license permits flexible usage in various projects. For developers, choosing the newer v4.1.1 is generally recommended to leverage the latest improvements and ensure compatibility with newer environments and libraries., with the warning that some unexpected behaviour might come together with it.
All the vulnerabilities related to the version 4.1.1 of the package
flat vulnerable to Prototype Pollution
flat helps flatten/unflatten nested Javascript objects. A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, was found in hughsk flat up to 5.0.0. This affects the function unflatten of the file index.js. The manipulation leads to improperly controlled modification of object prototype attributes ('prototype pollution'). It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. Upgrading to version 5.0.1 can address this issue. The name of the patch is 20ef0ef55dfa028caddaedbcb33efbdb04d18e13. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component. The identifier VDB-216777 was assigned to this vulnerability.
