Moment.js saw a new release with version 2.20.0 following closely on the heels of version 2.19.4. Both versions maintain the core functionality of parsing, validating, manipulating, and displaying dates in JavaScript. Examining the package metadata, the primary difference between the two lies in their release dates. Version 2.20.0 was published on December 17, 2017, while version 2.19.4 was released on December 11, 2017, indicating a relatively short turnaround between releases.
Developers using Moment.js should typically upgrade to the latest version (2.20.0 in this case) to benefit from any bug fixes, performance improvements, or new features introduced in the interim. While the devDependencies appear identical, suggesting no significant changes in the development tooling, the six-day gap could include crucial updates. The core team, helmed by Iskren Ivov Chernev, continues to rely on a robust suite of testing and development tools including Grunt, Karma, and Rollup, alongside utilities for code quality checks. Staying current with Moment.js ensures access to the most refined version of the library, backed by ongoing maintenance under the MIT license and contribution of an active public source repository on GitHub. Both versions are available to download using the standard npm install moment command or directly from the npm registry.
All the vulnerabilities related to the version 2.20.0 of the package
Path Traversal: 'dir/../../filename' in moment.locale
This vulnerability impacts npm (server) users of moment.js, especially if user provided locale string, eg fr is directly used to switch moment locale.
This problem is patched in 2.29.2, and the patch can be applied to all affected versions (from 1.0.1 up until 2.29.1, inclusive).
Sanitize user-provided locale name before passing it to moment.js.
Are there any links users can visit to find out more?
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
Moment.js vulnerable to Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity
The problem is patched in 2.29.4, the patch can be applied to all affected versions with minimal tweaking.
In general, given the proliferation of ReDoS attacks, it makes sense to limit the length of the user input to something sane, like 200 characters or less. I haven't seen legitimate cases of date-time strings longer than that, so all moment users who do pass a user-originating string to constructor are encouraged to apply such a rudimentary filter, that would help with this but also most future ReDoS vulnerabilities.
There is an excellent writeup of the issue here: https://github.com/moment/moment/pull/6015#issuecomment-1152961973=
The issue is rooted in the code that removes legacy comments (stuff inside parenthesis) from strings during rfc2822 parsing. moment("(".repeat(500000)) will take a few minutes to process, which is unacceptable.
