Sass version 1.6.1 represents a minor increment over its predecessor, version 1.6.0, both built as pure JavaScript implementations. Examining the metadata reveals that while both share identical core attributes, such as description, dependencies on Chokidar "^2.0.0," MIT license, repository details (dart-sass on GitHub), and author information attributed to Natalie Weizenbaum, key differences lie in the distributed package characteristics and release timing.
Notably, version 1.6.1 showcases a significantly reduced unpacked size (646298 bytes) compared to version 1.6.0 (1919246 bytes). This dramatic reduction could signify optimizations in code structure, asset handling, or removal of unnecessary components, leading to a smaller footprint and potentially faster installation times. The fileCount remains constant at 4 for both versions, suggesting similar distribution methods despite the size disparity.
Furthermore, version 1.6.1 was released later on the same day as 1.6.0, specifically on June 15, 2018, with timestamps indicating an approximate 21-hour difference. This implies that version 1.6.1 likely contains bug fixes, performance enhancements, or other refinements addressed shortly after the initial 1.6.0 release. Developers should strongly consider upgrading to version 1.6.1 to benefit from these potential improvements and the smaller installation size. Because both depend on "chokidar":"^2.0.0" they should be compatible with the same tooling. Choosing the latest ensures the updated bug fixes.
All the vulnerabilities related to the version 1.6.1 of the package
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.
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.
