Summary
Regular Expression Denial of Service in npm-user-validate
npm-user-validate before version 1.0.1 is vulnerable to a Regular Expression Denial of Service (REDos). The regex that validates user emails took exponentially longer to process long input strings beginning with @ characters.
Workarounds
Restrict the character length to a reasonable degree before passing a value to .emal(); Also, consider doing a more rigorous sanitizing/validation beforehand.
Impact
The issue affects the email function. If you use this function to process arbitrary user input with no character limit the application may be susceptible to Denial of Service.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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The issue is patched in version 1.0.1 by improving the regular expression used and also enforcing a 254 character limit.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is GHSA-XGH6-85XH-479P? GHSA-XGH6-85XH-479P is a low-severity security vulnerability in npm-user-validate (npm), affecting versions <= 1.0.0. It is fixed in 1.0.1.
- Which versions of npm-user-validate are affected by GHSA-XGH6-85XH-479P? npm-user-validate (npm) versions <= 1.0.0 is affected.
- Is there a fix for GHSA-XGH6-85XH-479P? Yes. GHSA-XGH6-85XH-479P is fixed in 1.0.1. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is GHSA-XGH6-85XH-479P exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether GHSA-XGH6-85XH-479P is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether GHSA-XGH6-85XH-479P is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
- How do I fix GHSA-XGH6-85XH-479P? Upgrade
npm-user-validateto 1.0.1 or later.