GHSA-798h-g4j5-5537: Duplicate Advisory PapaParse Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity Vulnerability

HIGH
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-1333
Published
Advisory Summary

GHSA-798h-g4j5-5537 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) papaparse inefficient regular expression complexity vulnerability (CWE-1333: Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity) affecting Duplicate Advisory libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves papaparse inefficient regular expression complexity vulnerability. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 5.2.0.

GHSA-798h-g4j5-5537 at a Glance

CVE Identifier N/A
GHSA Identifier GHSA-798h-g4j5-5537
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-1333: Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity
Affected Product Duplicate Advisory
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

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 GHSA-798h-g4j5-5537

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

papaparse fixed: 5.2.0 
npm install papaparse@5.2.0
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 papaparse

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by GHSA-798h-g4j5-5537, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls papaparse

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Duplicate Advisory in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 5.2.0), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls papaparse 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 Duplicate Advisory, 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

## Duplicate Advisory This advisory has been withdrawn because it is a duplicate of GHSA-qvjc-g5vr-mfgr. This link is maintained to preserve external references. ## Original Description A vulnerability was found in mholt PapaParse up to 5.1.x. It has been classified as problematic. Affected is an unknown function of the file papaparse.js. The manipulation leads to inefficient regular expression complexity. Upgrading to version 5.2.0 is able to address this issue. The name of the patch is 235a12758cd77266d2e98fd715f53536b34ad621. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component. The identifier of this vulnerability is VDB-218004.

GHSA-798h-g4j5-5537 Affected Duplicate Advisory Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
5.2.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
papaparse
npm/papaparse
npm
< 5.2.0
5.2.0

References

NVD — GHSA-798h-g4j5-5537 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-36649
Duplicate Advisory Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/mholt/PapaParse/issues/777
Duplicate Advisory Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/mholt/PapaParse/pull/779
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/mholt/PapaParse/commit/235a12758cd77266d2e98fd715f53536b34ad621
Duplicate Advisory Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/mholt/PapaParse
Duplicate Advisory Release RELEASE
https://github.com/mholt/PapaParse/releases/tag/5.2.0
vuldb.com/ WEB
https://vuldb.com/?ctiid.218004
vuldb.com/ WEB
https://vuldb.com/?id.218004

Frequently Asked Questions

What is GHSA-798h-g4j5-5537?
GHSA-798h-g4j5-5537 is a security vulnerability in Duplicate Advisory involving PapaParse Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity vulnerability under CWE-1333: Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity.
Which Duplicate Advisory versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 5.2.0 across affected packages: papaparse.
What version fixes GHSA-798h-g4j5-5537?
Upgrading to 5.2.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is papaparse affected?
Yes, papaparse is affected in releases prior to 5.2.0. Upgrade your dependency to 5.2.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of GHSA-798h-g4j5-5537?
GHSA-798h-g4j5-5537 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 GHSA-798h-g4j5-5537?
GHSA-798h-g4j5-5537 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 GHSA-798h-g4j5-5537?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls papaparse'. 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-798h-g4j5-5537",
  "modified" : "2025-06-16T14:03:06Z",
  "published" : "2023-01-11T15:30:28Z",
  "withdrawn" : "2025-06-16T14:03:06Z",
  "aliases" : [ ],
  "summary" : "Duplicate Advisory: PapaParse Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity vulnerability",
  "details" : "## Duplicate Advisory\nThis advisory has been withdrawn because it is a duplicate of GHSA-qvjc-g5vr-mfgr. This link is maintained to preserve external references.\n\n## Original Description\nA vulnerability was found in mholt PapaParse up to 5.1.x. It has been classified as problematic. Affected is an unknown function of the file papaparse.js. The manipulation leads to inefficient regular expression complexity. Upgrading to version 5.2.0 is able to address this issue. The name of the patch is 235a12758cd77266d2e98fd715f53536b34ad621. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component. The identifier of this vulnerability is VDB-218004.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "papaparse"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "5.2.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-36649"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/mholt/PapaParse/issues/777"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/mholt/PapaParse/pull/779"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/mholt/PapaParse/commit/235a12758cd77266d2e98fd715f53536b34ad621"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/mholt/PapaParse"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/mholt/PapaParse/releases/tag/5.2.0"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://vuldb.com/?ctiid.218004"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://vuldb.com/?id.218004"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-1333" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-01-12T20:51:49Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2023-01-11T15:15:00Z"
  }
}