Ts-loader is a popular webpack loader that enables developers to seamlessly integrate TypeScript code into their webpack-based projects. Version 4.4.0 introduces some notable changes compared to the previous stable version, 4.3.1. Both versions share identical dependencies like chalk, semver, micromatch, loader-utils, and enhanced-resolve, and similar devDependencies required for testing and development. The key differences lie in the distribution package itself. Version 4.4.0 boasts a more streamlined package, evidenced by a smaller unpacked size of 401334 bytes and a higher number of files (36) compared to version 4.3.1, which had an unpacked size of 665562 bytes with fewer files included(25). This suggests potential optimizations in the build process or a restructuring of the package contents in the newer version. Ultimately, developers should consider upgrading to ts-loader 4.4.0 for a potentially more efficient and optimized TypeScript compilation within their webpack workflows. However, it's always recommended to review the changelog or release notes for specific details on bug fixes, performance improvements, and any breaking changes that might affect existing projects. The newer version was released on June 8th, 2018, a few days after the previous one. This may indicate a bug fix release.
All the vulnerabilities related to the version 4.4.0 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.
