CVE-2022-25858 in terser
Summary
by MITRE • 07/16/2022
The package terser before 4.8.1, from 5.0.0 and before 5.14.2 are vulnerable to Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) due to insecure usage of regular expressions.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/01/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-25858 affects the terser package, a popular JavaScript minification tool widely used in web development workflows. This security flaw exists in versions prior to 4.8.1 and between versions 5.0.0 through 5.14.1, making it a significant concern for developers and organizations that rely on this tool for code optimization. The vulnerability stems from the insecure handling of regular expressions within the package's processing logic, creating a potential attack vector that could disrupt normal system operations.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the use of regular expressions that are susceptible to catastrophic backtracking patterns. When terser processes malicious input containing specifically crafted regular expressions, the tool enters into an exponential time complexity execution pattern where the processing time increases dramatically with input size. This behavior directly aligns with the Common Weakness Enumeration CWE-400, which categorizes the vulnerability as a Regular Expression Denial of Service attack. The flaw allows an attacker to craft input that causes the regular expression engine to perform an enormous number of operations, effectively consuming system resources and potentially leading to service unavailability.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple performance degradation to potentially enable complete system disruption. In environments where terser is integrated into build processes or automated workflows, an attacker could exploit this weakness to cause denial of service conditions that halt development operations or deployment pipelines. The vulnerability particularly affects continuous integration systems and automated testing environments where terser is invoked repeatedly. Attackers could leverage this weakness by providing malicious input files that trigger the vulnerable regular expression patterns, leading to resource exhaustion and system instability. The attack surface is broad since terser is commonly used in various development tools and frameworks, making it a valuable target for adversaries seeking to disrupt software development operations.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2022-25858 primarily involve upgrading to patched versions of the terser package, specifically versions 4.8.1 or 5.14.2 and later. Organizations should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify all systems and workflows utilizing affected versions of terser and implement immediate upgrade procedures. Additionally, security teams should consider implementing input validation measures and sandboxing techniques when processing untrusted input through terser or similar minification tools. The remediation process should include thorough testing of upgraded environments to ensure compatibility and prevent regression issues. Organizations may also want to consider implementing monitoring solutions that can detect unusual processing patterns or resource consumption that might indicate exploitation attempts. From an operational security perspective, maintaining up-to-date dependency management practices and implementing automated vulnerability scanning in development pipelines can help prevent similar issues from arising in the future. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under the T1496 technique for resource exhaustion attacks, emphasizing the importance of proper input sanitization and robust processing limits to prevent exploitation of such weaknesses in development toolchains.