NYC version 12.0.1 is a minor patch release of the popular command-line interface for Istanbul, a JavaScript code coverage tool. While both versions 12.0.0 and 12.0.1 share identical core functionalities like reporting coverage, instrumenting code, and integrating with testing frameworks such as Mocha and Tap, there's a subtle but important update concerning the dependency istanbul-lib-instrument.
Specifically, version 12.0.1 upgrades istanbul-lib-instrument from version 2.0.2 to version 2.1.0. This update is crucial because it often includes bug fixes, performance improvements, and potentially new features within the code instrumentation process. Even if not immediately visible at a high level, the updated instrumentation library ensures greater stability and accuracy when measuring code coverage through Istanbul. Also, there is a small difference in the unpacked size between the 2 versions, but it is irrelevant.
NYC is an invaluable tool for developers striving to improve the quality and reliability of their JavaScript code. By providing detailed insights into which parts of the codebase are being tested and which are not, developers can write more effective tests and ultimately reduce the risk of bugs and errors. The tool's versatility, with support for various testing frameworks and reporting formats, makes it an essential addition to any JavaScript project's development workflow. The upgrade to istanbul-lib-instrument ensures a more robust and stable experience for measuring code coverage.
All the vulnerabilities related to the version 12.0.1 of the package
Denial of Service in mem
Versions of mem prior to 4.0.0 are vulnerable to Denial of Service (DoS). The package fails to remove old values from the cache even after a value passes its maxAge property. This may allow attackers to exhaust the system's memory if they are able to abuse the application logging.
Upgrade to version 4.0.0 or later.
Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) in micromatch
The NPM package micromatch prior to version 4.0.8 is vulnerable to Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS). The vulnerability occurs in micromatch.braces() in index.js because the pattern .* will greedily match anything. By passing a malicious payload, the pattern matching will keep backtracking to the input while it doesn't find the closing bracket. As the input size increases, the consumption time will also increase until it causes the application to hang or slow down. There was a merged fix but further testing shows the issue persisted prior to https://github.com/micromatch/micromatch/pull/266. This issue should be mitigated by using a safe pattern that won't start backtracking the regular expression due to greedy matching.
Uncontrolled resource consumption in braces
The NPM package braces fails to limit the number of characters it can handle, which could lead to Memory Exhaustion. In lib/parse.js, if a malicious user sends "imbalanced braces" as input, the parsing will enter a loop, which will cause the program to start allocating heap memory without freeing it at any moment of the loop. Eventually, the JavaScript heap limit is reached, and the program will crash.
yargs-parser Vulnerable to Prototype Pollution
Affected versions of yargs-parser 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 --foo.__proto__.bar baz' adds a bar property with value baz to all objects. This is only exploitable if attackers have control over the arguments being passed to yargs-parser.
Upgrade to versions 13.1.2, 15.0.1, 18.1.1 or later.
Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) in cross-spawn
Versions of the package cross-spawn before 7.0.5 are vulnerable to Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) due to improper input sanitization. An attacker can increase the CPU usage and crash the program by crafting a very large and well crafted string.
