Webpack version 4.23.1 is a minor update to the popular JavaScript module bundler, following closely on the heels of version 4.23.0. Both versions serve the core purpose of packing CommonJs/AMD modules for browser usage, enabling code splitting into bundles for on-demand loading and offering loader support for preprocessing various file types like JSON, JSX, ES7, CSS, and LESS.
A quick glance reveals that the dependency and devDependency lists remain virtually identical between the two releases, suggesting that the update from 4.23.0 to 4.23.1 doesn't introduce any new features or breaking changes in terms of the libraries webpack relies on or utilizes for development.
The key difference lies, as expected in minor updates, in bug fixes and small improvements. While specific details of these changes aren't provided in the metadata, developers can anticipate enhanced stability and potentially better performance in certain scenarios with version 4.23.1. The most valuable benefit for developers is in keeping their webpack versions up to date to safeguard against accumulating older bugs that have already been fixed. Also the unpackedSize of both versions are slightly different, indicating the inclusion of changes, perhaps very minor, that alter the final size of the distribution. From a practical standpoint, developers already using webpack 4.23.0 should consider upgrading to 4.23.1 to benefit from the latest refinements, ensuring a smoother and more reliable bundling process. The upgrade is generally safe and straightforward due to the mirrored dependancy and devDependency lists from the previous stable version.
All the vulnerabilities related to the version 4.23.1 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.
