ts-loader is a TypeScript loader for webpack, enabling developers to seamlessly integrate TypeScript code into their webpack workflows. Comparing versions 4.0.0 and 4.0.1, both share the same core dependencies including chalk, semver, micromatch, loader-utils, and enhanced-resolve, indicating a stable foundation. They also share the same devDependencies. This consistency suggests that the fundamental functionality and core features remain unchanged between the two versions.
The primary difference lies in the release date and potentially in minor bug fixes or internal improvements. Version 4.0.0 was released on February 25, 2018, while version 4.0.1 followed shortly after on March 2, 2018. The updated release date of version 4.0.1 signals it includes the most up-to-date fixes. The unpacked size is slightly different between the two versions, with 4.0.1 having 316916 and 4.0.0 having 316481, suggesting that there are some additions.
For developers, ts-loader simplifies the process of compiling TypeScript code within webpack, allowing them to leverage the benefits of TypeScript's static typing and modern language features within their projects. Given that the core dependencies and functionality are identical, upgrading from 4.0.0 to 4.0.1 appears to be a safe and recommended choice, ensuring access to any recent patches. Users should update to version 4.0.1 for a reliable experience.
All the vulnerabilities related to the version 4.0.1 of the package
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.
