Webpack version 3.5.3 is a minor update following version 3.5.2, both designed to pack CommonJs/AMD modules for browser use and enabling developers to split codebases into manageable bundles for on-demand loading. Both versions support loaders for preprocessing various file types like JSON, JSX, ES7, CSS, and LESS. Key dependencies remain consistent between the two, including 'ajv', 'acorn', 'async', 'json5', and 'yargs', ensuring core functionality is maintained. Developers will find the same set of tools available for tasks like code resolution, source map generation, and handling various module formats.
The primary difference between these versions lies in bug fixes and minor improvements. Reviewing the changelog or commit history (available on the webpack GitHub repository) would provide granular details on specific fixes implemented in version 3.5.3. While the feature set and API remain largely the same, users might experience increased stability or performance gains from the updated version.
For developers, sticking to the latest stable version like 3.5.3 is generally advisable for benefiting from the most recent bug fixes and optimizations. Both versions offer a robust module bundling solution with extensive loader support, catering to a wide range of web development workflows. Ensure compatibility with existing configurations and dependencies by testing the update in a development environment before deploying to production. The inclusion of uglifyjs-webpack-plugin highlights webpack's focus on minimizing and optimizing code for production environments.
All the vulnerabilities related to the version 3.5.3 of the package
Prototype Pollution in Ajv
An issue was discovered in ajv.validate() in Ajv (aka Another JSON Schema Validator) 6.12.2. A carefully crafted JSON schema could be provided that allows execution of other code by prototype pollution. (While untrusted schemas are recommended against, the worst case of an untrusted schema should be a denial of service, not execution of code.)
Prototype Pollution in JSON5 via Parse Method
The parse method of the JSON5 library before and including version 2.2.1 does not restrict parsing of keys named __proto__, allowing specially crafted strings to pollute the prototype of the resulting object.
This vulnerability pollutes the prototype of the object returned by JSON5.parse and not the global Object prototype, which is the commonly understood definition of Prototype Pollution. However, polluting the prototype of a single object can have significant security impact for an application if the object is later used in trusted operations.
This vulnerability could allow an attacker to set arbitrary and unexpected keys on the object returned from JSON5.parse. The actual impact will depend on how applications utilize the returned object and how they filter unwanted keys, but could include denial of service, cross-site scripting, elevation of privilege, and in extreme cases, remote code execution.
This vulnerability is patched in json5 v2.2.2 and later. A patch has also been backported for json5 v1 in versions v1.0.2 and later.
Suppose a developer wants to allow users and admins to perform some risky operation, but they want to restrict what non-admins can do. To accomplish this, they accept a JSON blob from the user, parse it using JSON5.parse, confirm that the provided data does not set some sensitive keys, and then performs the risky operation using the validated data:
const JSON5 = require('json5');
const doSomethingDangerous = (props) => {
if (props.isAdmin) {
console.log('Doing dangerous thing as admin.');
} else {
console.log('Doing dangerous thing as user.');
}
};
const secCheckKeysSet = (obj, searchKeys) => {
let searchKeyFound = false;
Object.keys(obj).forEach((key) => {
if (searchKeys.indexOf(key) > -1) {
searchKeyFound = true;
}
});
return searchKeyFound;
};
const props = JSON5.parse('{"foo": "bar"}');
if (!secCheckKeysSet(props, ['isAdmin', 'isMod'])) {
doSomethingDangerous(props); // "Doing dangerous thing as user."
} else {
throw new Error('Forbidden...');
}
If the user attempts to set the isAdmin key, their request will be rejected:
const props = JSON5.parse('{"foo": "bar", "isAdmin": true}');
if (!secCheckKeysSet(props, ['isAdmin', 'isMod'])) {
doSomethingDangerous(props);
} else {
throw new Error('Forbidden...'); // Error: Forbidden...
}
However, users can instead set the __proto__ key to {"isAdmin": true}. JSON5 will parse this key and will set the isAdmin key on the prototype of the returned object, allowing the user to bypass the security check and run their request as an admin:
const props = JSON5.parse('{"foo": "bar", "__proto__": {"isAdmin": true}}');
if (!secCheckKeysSet(props, ['isAdmin', 'isMod'])) {
doSomethingDangerous(props); // "Doing dangerous thing as admin."
} else {
throw new Error('Forbidden...');
}
Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) in cross-spawn
Versions of the package cross-spawn before 7.0.5 are vulnerable to Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) due to improper input sanitization. An attacker can increase the CPU usage and crash the program by crafting a very large and well crafted string.
Denial of Service in mem
Versions of mem prior to 4.0.0 are vulnerable to Denial of Service (DoS). The package fails to remove old values from the cache even after a value passes its maxAge property. This may allow attackers to exhaust the system's memory if they are able to abuse the application logging.
Upgrade to version 4.0.0 or later.
yargs-parser Vulnerable to Prototype Pollution
Affected versions of yargs-parser are vulnerable to prototype pollution. Arguments are not properly sanitized, allowing an attacker to modify the prototype of Object, causing the addition or modification of an existing property that will exist on all objects.
Parsing the argument --foo.__proto__.bar baz' adds a bar property with value baz to all objects. This is only exploitable if attackers have control over the arguments being passed to yargs-parser.
Upgrade to versions 13.1.2, 15.0.1, 18.1.1 or later.