Serve-static is a crucial piece of middleware for serving static files in Express.js and Node.js applications, streamlining the delivery of assets like images, stylesheets, and scripts to the browser. Analyzing versions 1.2.2 and 1.2.3 reveals subtle but important changes for developers. The core functionality remains the same: efficiently serving static content.
The primary difference lies in its dependency on the 'send' package. Version 1.2.2 relies on 'send' version 0.4.2, while version 1.2.3 upgrades this dependency to 'send' version 0.4.3. While seemingly minor, this update likely includes bug fixes, performance improvements, or security patches within the 'send' module itself, which are essential to consider.
Both versions share identical development dependencies, including mocha for testing, should for assertions, istanbul for code coverage, and supertest for HTTP testing, ensuring a consistent testing environment across these releases. The license, repository, and author information are also consistent, indicating a stable and well-maintained project.
Developers choosing between these versions should prioritize version 1.2.3 due to its updated 'send' dependency. This potentially provides a more stable and secure foundation for their static file serving needs. Always check the changelog of the 'send' package to understand the specific changes introduced in version 0.4.3 and how they might affect application behavior. Using the latest patch version within a series (1.2.x in this case) is generally recommended for optimal stability and security.
All the vulnerabilities related to the version 1.2.3 of the package
Open Redirect in serve-static
Versions of serve-static prior to 1.6.5 ( or 1.7.x prior to 1.7.2 ) are affected by an open redirect vulnerability on some browsers when configured to mount at the root directory.
A link to http://example.com//www.google.com/%2e%2e will redirect to //www.google.com/%2e%2e
Some browsers will interpret this as http://www.google.com/%2e%2e, resulting in an external redirect.
Version 1.7.x: Update to version 1.7.2 or later. Version 1.6.x: Update to version 1.6.5 or later.
serve-static vulnerable to template injection that can lead to XSS
passing untrusted user input - even after sanitizing it - to redirect() may execute untrusted code
this issue is patched in serve-static 1.16.0
users are encouraged to upgrade to the patched version of express, but otherwise can workaround this issue by making sure any untrusted inputs are safe, ideally by validating them against an explicit allowlist
successful exploitation of this vector requires the following:
Directory Traversal in send
Versions 0.8.3 and earlier of send are affected by a directory traversal vulnerability. When relying on the root option to restrict file access it may be possible for an application consumer to escape out of the restricted directory and access files in a similarly named directory.
For example, static(_dirname + '/public') would allow access to _dirname + '/public-restricted'.
Update to version 0.8.4 or later.
Root Path Disclosure in send
Versions of send prior to 0.11.2 are affected by an information leakage vulnerability which may allow an attacker to enumerate paths on the server filesystem.
Update to version 0.11.1 or later.
send vulnerable to template injection that can lead to XSS
passing untrusted user input - even after sanitizing it - to SendStream.redirect() may execute untrusted code
this issue is patched in send 0.19.0
users are encouraged to upgrade to the patched version of express, but otherwise can workaround this issue by making sure any untrusted inputs are safe, ideally by validating them against an explicit allowlist
successful exploitation of this vector requires the following:
mime Regular Expression Denial of Service when MIME lookup performed on untrusted user input
Affected versions of mime are vulnerable to regular expression denial of service when a mime lookup is performed on untrusted user input.
Update to version 2.0.3 or later.
debug Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity vulnerability
A vulnerability classified as problematic has been found in debug-js debug up to 3.0.x. This affects the function useColors of the file src/node.js. The manipulation of the argument str leads to inefficient regular expression complexity. Upgrading to version 3.1.0 is able to address this issue. The name of the patch is c38a0166c266a679c8de012d4eaccec3f944e685. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component. The identifier VDB-217665 was assigned to this vulnerability. The patch has been backported to the 2.6.x branch in version 2.6.9.
Regular Expression Denial of Service in debug
Affected versions of debug are vulnerable to regular expression denial of service when untrusted user input is passed into the o formatter.
As it takes 50,000 characters to block the event loop for 2 seconds, this issue is a low severity issue.
This was later re-introduced in version v3.2.0, and then repatched in versions 3.2.7 and 4.3.1.
Version 2.x.x: Update to version 2.6.9 or later. Version 3.1.x: Update to version 3.1.0 or later. Version 3.2.x: Update to version 3.2.7 or later. Version 4.x.x: Update to version 4.3.1 or later.
Regular Expression Denial of Service in ms
Versions of ms prior to 0.7.1 are affected by a regular expression denial of service vulnerability when extremely long version strings are parsed.
var ms = require('ms');
var genstr = function (len, chr) {
var result = "";
for (i=0; i<=len; i++) {
result = result + chr;
}
return result;
}
ms(genstr(process.argv[2], "5") + " minutea");
Showing increase in execution time based on the input string.
$ time node ms.js 10000
real 0m0.758s
user 0m0.724s
sys 0m0.031s
$ time node ms.js 20000
real 0m2.580s
user 0m2.494s
sys 0m0.047s
$ time node ms.js 30000
real 0m5.747s
user 0m5.483s
sys 0m0.080s
$ time node ms.js 80000
real 0m41.022s
user 0m38.894s
sys 0m0.529s
Vercel ms Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity vulnerability
A vulnerability, which was classified as problematic, has been found in vercel ms up to 1.x. This issue affects the function parse of the file index.js. The manipulation of the argument str leads to inefficient regular expression complexity. The attack may be initiated remotely. The exploit has been disclosed to the public and may be used. Upgrading to version 2.0.0 is able to address this issue. The name of the patch is caae2988ba2a37765d055c4eee63d383320ee662. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component. The associated identifier of this vulnerability is VDB-217451.
Regular Expression Denial of Service in fresh
Affected versions of fresh are vulnerable to regular expression denial of service when parsing specially crafted user input.
Update to version 0.5.2 or later.