Webpack version 0.4.21 represents a minor update over its predecessor, version 0.4.20, in the early days of this powerful module bundler. Both versions share the same core functionality: efficiently packing CommonJS modules for browser deployment. Developers could leverage webpack to split codebases into smaller bundles, optimizing loading times by delivering code on demand. This feature was particularly beneficial for complex web applications, reducing initial load times and enhancing user experience. The built-in support for various file types, including JavaScript, JSON, Jade (now Pug), CoffeeScript, and CSS, provided developers with a streamlined workflow. Custom loaders extended the bundler's capabilities, enabling the handling of almost any file type.
The dependency lists are identical between the two versions, including crucial loaders like css-loader, raw-loader, jade-loader, and coffee-loader. This suggests that the update primarily focused on internal improvements or bug fixes rather than introducing significant new features or altering the dependency requirements. While the devDependencies for testing, mocha and should, remain consistent, the key differentiation lies in the releaseDate. Version 0.4.21 was released on July 17, 2012, a day after version 0.4.20, suggesting a quick follow-up to address immediate issues or optimizations identified in the previous release. For developers, this likely translates to a smoother and more reliable experience compared to the earlier version, making 0.4.21 the preferred choice, albeit subtly.
All the vulnerabilities related to the version 0.4.21 of the package
Incorrect Handling of Non-Boolean Comparisons During Minification in uglify-js
Versions of uglify-js prior to 2.4.24 are affected by a vulnerability which may cause crafted JavaScript to have altered functionality after minification.
Upgrade UglifyJS to version >= 2.4.24.
Regular Expression Denial of Service in uglify-js
Versions of uglify-js prior to 2.6.0 are affected by a regular expression denial of service vulnerability when malicious inputs are passed into the parse() method.
var u = require('uglify-js');
var genstr = function (len, chr) {
var result = "";
for (i=0; i<=len; i++) {
result = result + chr;
}
return result;
}
u.parse("var a = " + genstr(process.argv[2], "1") + ".1ee7;");
$ time node test.js 10000
real 0m1.091s
user 0m1.047s
sys 0m0.039s
$ time node test.js 80000
real 0m6.486s
user 0m6.229s
sys 0m0.094s
Update to version 2.6.0 or later.
Regular Expression Denial of Service in clean-css
Version of clean-css prior to 4.1.11 are vulnerable to Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS). Untrusted input may cause catastrophic backtracking while matching regular expressions. This can cause the application to be unresponsive leading to Denial of Service.
Upgrade to version 4.1.11 or higher.
Sandbox Bypass Leading to Arbitrary Code Execution in constantinople
Versions of constantinople prior to 3.1.1 are vulnerable to a sandbox bypass which can lead to arbitrary code execution.
Update to version 3.1.1 or later.