CVE-2017-16137: Debug Denial of Service Vulnerability

LOW
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-gxpj-cx7g-858c
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CVSS 3.7
CWE-400
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2017-16137 is a LOW (CVSS 3.7) denial of service vulnerability (CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption) affecting Debug libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves regular expression denial of service in debug. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2.6.9, 3.1.0, 3.2.7, 4.3.1.

CVE-2017-16137 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2017-16137
GHSA Identifier GHSA-gxpj-cx7g-858c
Severity LOW
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 3.7
CWE Classification CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
Affected Product Debug
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 3.7

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

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

How to Fix CVE-2017-16137

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

debug fixed: 2.6.9 
npm install debug@2.6.9
debug fixed: 3.1.0 
npm install debug@3.1.0
debug fixed: 3.2.7 
npm install debug@3.2.7
debug fixed: 4.3.1 
npm install debug@4.3.1
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 debug

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2017-16137, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls debug

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Debug in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 2.6.9), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls debug 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-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption, where the product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource. In Debug, 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

Affected versions of `debug` are vulnerable to regular expression denial of service when untrusted user input is passed into the `o` formatter. As it takes 50,000 characters to block the event loop for 2 seconds, this issue is a low severity issue. This was later re-introduced in version v3.2.0, and then repatched in versions 3.2.7 and 4.3.1. ## Recommendation Version 2.x.x: Update to version 2.6.9 or later. Version 3.1.x: Update to version 3.1.0 or later. Version 3.2.x: Update to version 3.2.7 or later. Version 4.x.x: Update to version 4.3.1 or later.

CVE-2017-16137 Affected Debug Versions

4 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2.6.93.1.03.2.74.3.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
debug
npm/debug
npm
< 2.6.9
2.6.9
debug
npm/debug
npm
≥ 3.0.0
< 3.1.0
3.1.0
debug
npm/debug
npm
≥ 3.2.0
< 3.2.7
3.2.7
debug
npm/debug
npm
≥ 4.0.0
< 4.3.1
4.3.1

References

NVD — CVE-2017-16137 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-16137
Debug Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/debug-js/debug/issues/797
Debug Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/visionmedia/debug/issues/501
Debug Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/visionmedia/debug/pull/504
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/debug-js/debug/commit/4e2150207c568adb9ead8f4c4528016081c88020
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/debug-js/debug/commit/71169065b5262f9858ac78cc0b688c84a438f290
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/debug-js/debug/commit/b6d12fdbc63b483e5c969da33ea6adc09946b5ac
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/debug-js/debug/commit/f53962e944a87e6ca9bb622a2a12dffc22a9bb5a
Debug Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/visionmedia/debug
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r8ba4c6... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r8ba4c628fba7181af58817d452119481adce4ba92e889c643e4c7dd3@%3Ccommits.netbeans.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/rb5ac16... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rb5ac16fad337d1f3bb7079549f97d8166d0ef3082629417c39f12d63@%3Cnotifications.netbeans.apache.org%3E

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2017-16137?
CVE-2017-16137 is a security vulnerability in Debug involving Regular Expression Denial of Service in debug under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption.
Which Debug versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2.6.9, 3.1.0, 3.2.7, 4.3.1 across affected packages: debug.
What version fixes CVE-2017-16137?
Upgrading to 2.6.9, 3.1.0, 3.2.7, 4.3.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is debug affected?
Yes, debug is affected in releases prior to 2.6.9, 3.1.0, 3.2.7, 4.3.1. Upgrade your dependency to 2.6.9, 3.1.0, 3.2.7, 4.3.1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2017-16137?
CVE-2017-16137 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 3.7 (LOW) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2017-16137?
CVE-2017-16137 is classified under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption (The product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2017-16137?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls debug'. 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-gxpj-cx7g-858c",
  "modified" : "2024-03-25T19:01:23Z",
  "published" : "2018-08-09T20:18:07Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2017-16137" ],
  "summary" : "Regular Expression Denial of Service in debug",
  "details" : "Affected versions of `debug` are vulnerable to regular expression denial of service when untrusted user input is passed into the `o` formatter. \n\nAs it takes 50,000 characters to block the event loop for 2 seconds, this issue is a low severity issue.\n\nThis was later re-introduced in version v3.2.0, and then repatched in versions 3.2.7 and 4.3.1.\n\n## Recommendation\n\nVersion 2.x.x: Update to version 2.6.9 or later.\nVersion 3.1.x: Update to version 3.1.0 or later.\nVersion 3.2.x: Update to version 3.2.7 or later.\nVersion 4.x.x: Update to version 4.3.1 or later.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "debug"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.6.9"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "debug"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "3.0.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3.1.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "debug"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "3.2.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3.2.7"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "debug"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "4.0.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "4.3.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-16137"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/debug-js/debug/issues/797"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/visionmedia/debug/issues/501"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/visionmedia/debug/pull/504"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/debug-js/debug/commit/4e2150207c568adb9ead8f4c4528016081c88020"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/debug-js/debug/commit/71169065b5262f9858ac78cc0b688c84a438f290"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/debug-js/debug/commit/b6d12fdbc63b483e5c969da33ea6adc09946b5ac"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/debug-js/debug/commit/f53962e944a87e6ca9bb622a2a12dffc22a9bb5a"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/visionmedia/debug"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r8ba4c628fba7181af58817d452119481adce4ba92e889c643e4c7dd3@%3Ccommits.netbeans.apache.org%3E"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rb5ac16fad337d1f3bb7079549f97d8166d0ef3082629417c39f12d63@%3Cnotifications.netbeans.apache.org%3E"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-400" ],
    "severity" : "LOW",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-06-16T21:38:18Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}