Webpack version 4.10.1 represents a minor update to the popular JavaScript module bundler, building upon the foundation laid by version 4.10.0. While the core functionality remains consistent, developers should consider upgrading to 4.10.1 primarily for potential bug fixes and minor improvements implemented since the previous release. The package descriptions for both versions highlight their shared purpose: efficiently packing CommonJs/AMD modules for browser deployment and enabling code splitting for on-demand loading to optimize application loading times. Both versions support loaders to preprocess various file types like JSON, JSX, ES7, CSS, and LESS, increasing developer convenience and customizability.
The key differentiating factors lie within the internal refinements of the newer version. Examining the dependency and devDependency lists reveals no immediate changes, indicating that the update focuses on code stabilization and performance tweaks rather than introducing entirely new features or requiring alterations to existing project configurations. However, the "dist" object shows a difference in unpackedSize, suggesting that version 4.10.1 may provide some size optimizations compared to version 4.10.0. It's always recommended to review the official changelog or release notes for a detailed breakdown of the specific changes, as npm package metadata often doesn't contain comprehensive lists of all modifications.
All the vulnerabilities related to the version 4.10.1 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.
Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS)
npm ssri 5.2.2-6.0.1 and 7.0.0-8.0.0, processes SRIs using a regular expression which is vulnerable to a denial of service. Malicious SRIs could take an extremely long time to process, leading to denial of service. This issue only affects consumers using the strict option.
Cross-Site Scripting in serialize-javascript
Versions of serialize-javascript prior to 2.1.1 are vulnerable to Cross-Site Scripting (XSS). The package fails to sanitize serialized regular expressions. This vulnerability does not affect Node.js applications.
Upgrade to version 2.1.1 or later.
Insecure serialization leading to RCE in serialize-javascript
serialize-javascript prior to 3.1.0 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary code via the function "deleteFunctions" within "index.js".
An object such as {"foo": /1"/, "bar": "a\"@__R-<UID>-0__@"} was serialized as {"foo": /1"/, "bar": "a\/1"/}, which allows an attacker to escape the bar key. This requires the attacker to control the values of both foo and bar and guess the value of <UID>. The UID has a keyspace of approximately 4 billion making it a realistic network attack.
