Qs is a popular npm package used for parsing and stringifying URL query strings, offering robust support for nested objects and arrays. Comparing version 6.7.0 (released in March 2019) with the older stable version 6.6.1 (released in January 2022) highlights changes primarily in the development dependencies.
**Version 6.7.0** leans on older versions of development tools such as tape, eslint, and browserify. This signifies an earlier stage in the evolution of the JavaScript ecosystem and its tooling.
**Version 6.6.1** showcases a more modernized development environment, adopting newer versions of tools like tape, eslint, and including additional tools such as aud, nyc and eclint for auditing, code coverage, and linting. This suggests a greater emphasis on code quality, security, and modern development practices.
For developers, the difference in development dependencies might not directly impact the runtime behavior of the library itself. However, it reflects the development philosophy and the commitment to staying current with best practices. If you require the most stable and thoroughly tested version, 6.6.1, with its updated development dependencies, would be the recommended choice, as it will be a more recent and secure version. Otherwise, for legacy systems, the 6.7.0 version could be used, considering dependency constrains, albeit with outdated related developer tools.
All the vulnerabilities related to the version 6.7.0 of the package
qs vulnerable to Prototype Pollution
qs before 6.10.3 allows attackers to cause a Node process hang because an __ proto__ key can be used. In many typical web framework use cases, an unauthenticated remote attacker can place the attack payload in the query string of the URL that is used to visit the application, such as a[__proto__]=b&a[__proto__]&a[length]=100000000. The fix was backported to qs 6.9.7, 6.8.3, 6.7.3, 6.6.1, 6.5.3, 6.4.1, 6.3.3, and 6.2.4.
