CVE-2018-3738: Protobufjs Denial of Service Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-762f-c2wg-m8c8
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CVSS 5.5
CWE-1333
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2018-3738 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.5) denial of service vulnerability (CWE-1333: Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity) affecting Protobufjs libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves denial of service in protobufjs. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 6.8.6, 5.0.3.

CVE-2018-3738 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2018-3738
GHSA Identifier GHSA-762f-c2wg-m8c8
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.5
CWE Classification CWE-1333: Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity
Affected Product Protobufjs
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 5.5

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

Attack Vector Local (AV:L)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction Required (UI:R)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality None (C:N)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2018-3738

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

protobufjs fixed: 6.8.6 
npm install protobufjs@6.8.6
protobufjs fixed: 5.0.3 
npm install protobufjs@5.0.3
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 protobufjs

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2018-3738, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls protobufjs

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Protobufjs in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 6.8.6), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls protobufjs 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-1333: Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity, where the product uses a regular expression with a worst-case computational complexity that is inefficient and possibly exponential. In Protobufjs, 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

Versions of `protobufjs` before 5.0.3 and 6.8.6 are vulnerable to a regular expression denial of service when parsing crafted invalid *.proto files. ## Recommendation Update to version 5.0.3, 6.8.6 or later.

CVE-2018-3738 Affected Protobufjs Versions

2 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
6.8.65.0.3
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
protobufjs
npm/protobufjs
npm
≥ 6.0.0
< 6.8.6
6.8.6
protobufjs
npm/protobufjs
npm
< 5.0.3
5.0.3

References

NVD — CVE-2018-3738 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-3738
hackerone.com/reports/319576 WEB
https://hackerone.com/reports/319576
GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-762f-c2wg-m8c8
Protobufjs Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/dcodeIO/protobuf.js/blob/6.8.5/src/parse.js#L27
www.npmjs.com/advisories/605 WEB
https://www.npmjs.com/advisories/605

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2018-3738?
CVE-2018-3738 is a security vulnerability in Protobufjs involving Denial of Service in protobufjs under CWE-1333: Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity.
Which Protobufjs versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 6.8.6, 5.0.3 across affected packages: protobufjs.
What version fixes CVE-2018-3738?
Upgrading to 6.8.6, 5.0.3 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is protobufjs affected?
Yes, protobufjs is affected in releases prior to 6.8.6, 5.0.3. Upgrade your dependency to 6.8.6, 5.0.3 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2018-3738?
CVE-2018-3738 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.5 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2018-3738?
CVE-2018-3738 is classified under CWE-1333: Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity (The product uses a regular expression with a worst-case computational complexity that is inefficient and possibly exponential.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2018-3738?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls protobufjs'. 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-762f-c2wg-m8c8",
  "modified" : "2023-04-11T00:32:09Z",
  "published" : "2018-10-09T00:27:15Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2018-3738" ],
  "summary" : "Denial of Service in protobufjs",
  "details" : "Versions of `protobufjs` before 5.0.3 and 6.8.6 are vulnerable to a regular expression denial of service when parsing crafted invalid *.proto files.\n\n\n## Recommendation\n\nUpdate to version 5.0.3, 6.8.6 or later.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "protobufjs"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "6.0.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "6.8.6"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "protobufjs"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "5.0.3"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-3738"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://hackerone.com/reports/319576"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-762f-c2wg-m8c8"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/dcodeIO/protobuf.js/blob/6.8.5/src/parse.js#L27"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.npmjs.com/advisories/605"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-1333" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-06-16T21:21:32Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2018-06-07T02:29:00Z"
  }
}