GHSA-qhwp-454g-2gv4: Duplicate Advisory Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability

MODERATE
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CWE-674
Published
Advisory Summary

GHSA-qhwp-454g-2gv4 is a MODERATE cross-site scripting vulnerability (CWE-674: Uncontrolled Recursion) affecting Duplicate Advisory libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves express-xss-sanitizer has an unbounded recursion depth. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

GHSA-qhwp-454g-2gv4 at a Glance

CVE Identifier N/A
GHSA Identifier GHSA-qhwp-454g-2gv4
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification CWE-674: Uncontrolled Recursion
Affected Product Duplicate Advisory
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix GHSA-qhwp-454g-2gv4

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.

express-xss-sanitizer fixed: Latest secure release 
npm install express-xss-sanitizer@Latest secure release
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 express-xss-sanitizer

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by GHSA-qhwp-454g-2gv4, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls express-xss-sanitizer

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 the patched release), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls express-xss-sanitizer 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-674: Uncontrolled Recursion, where the product does not properly control the amount of recursion that takes place, consuming excessive resources, such as allocated memory or the program stack. 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-hvq2-wf92-j4f3. This link is maintained to preserve external references. ## Original Descripton The `express-xss-sanitizer` package for Node.js has an unbounded recursion in the `sanitize` function (`lib/sanitize.js`) when processing JSON request bodies. A remote attacker can send a deeply nested payload to any endpoint that applies this sanitizer, driving excessive recursion and resource consumption (CPU) until the process becomes unresponsive or crashes (e.g., “Maximum call stack size exceeded”). This causes a denial of service. The issue is present through version 2.0.0; no fixed release is available as of this update.

GHSA-qhwp-454g-2gv4 Affected Duplicate Advisory Versions

1 component(s)
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
express-xss-sanitizer
npm/express-xss-sanitizer
npm
≤ 2.0.0

References

NVD — GHSA-qhwp-454g-2gv4 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-59364
Duplicate Advisory Security Information SECURITY
https://dbugs.ptsecurity.com/vulnerability/PT-2025-37434
Duplicate Advisory Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://gist.github.com/Spendroslav/177804eaef5acfb222a550de212a1b94
Duplicate Advisory Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/AhmedAdelFahim/express-xss-sanitizer
www.npmjs.com/package/express-xss... WEB
https://www.npmjs.com/package/express-xss-sanitizer
www.tenable.com/cve/cve-2025-59364 WEB
https://www.tenable.com/cve/CVE-2025-59364

Frequently Asked Questions

What is GHSA-qhwp-454g-2gv4?
GHSA-qhwp-454g-2gv4 is a security vulnerability in Duplicate Advisory involving express-xss-sanitizer has an unbounded recursion depth under CWE-674: Uncontrolled Recursion.
Which Duplicate Advisory versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches across affected packages: express-xss-sanitizer.
What version fixes GHSA-qhwp-454g-2gv4?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is express-xss-sanitizer affected?
Yes, express-xss-sanitizer is affected in releases prior to Latest secure release. Upgrade your dependency to Latest secure release or later.
What CWE is associated with GHSA-qhwp-454g-2gv4?
GHSA-qhwp-454g-2gv4 is classified under CWE-674: Uncontrolled Recursion (The product does not properly control the amount of recursion that takes place, consuming excessive resources, such as allocated memory or the program stack.).
How can I check npm dependencies for GHSA-qhwp-454g-2gv4?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls express-xss-sanitizer'. 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-qhwp-454g-2gv4",
  "modified" : "2025-09-26T14:38:04Z",
  "published" : "2025-09-15T00:30:15Z",
  "withdrawn" : "2025-09-26T14:38:04Z",
  "aliases" : [ ],
  "summary" : "Duplicate Advisory: express-xss-sanitizer has an unbounded recursion depth",
  "details" : "## Duplicate Advisory\nThis advisory has been withdrawn because it is a duplicate of GHSA-hvq2-wf92-j4f3. This link is maintained to preserve external references.\n\n## Original Descripton\n\nThe `express-xss-sanitizer` package for Node.js has an unbounded recursion in the `sanitize` function (`lib/sanitize.js`) when processing JSON request bodies. A remote attacker can send a deeply nested payload to any endpoint that applies this sanitizer, driving excessive recursion and resource consumption (CPU) until the process becomes unresponsive or crashes (e.g., “Maximum call stack size exceeded”). This causes a denial of service. The issue is present through version 2.0.0; no fixed release is available as of this update.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "express-xss-sanitizer"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "last_affected" : "2.0.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-59364"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://dbugs.ptsecurity.com/vulnerability/PT-2025-37434"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://gist.github.com/Spendroslav/177804eaef5acfb222a550de212a1b94"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/AhmedAdelFahim/express-xss-sanitizer"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.npmjs.com/package/express-xss-sanitizer"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.tenable.com/cve/CVE-2025-59364"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-674" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2025-09-15T20:32:22Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2025-09-14T23:15:37Z"
  }
}