CVE-2014-7191: Qs Denial-of-Service Memory Exhaustion Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-jjv7-qpx3-h62q
Share
CWE-400
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2014-7191 is a HIGH denial-of-service memory exhaustion vulnerability (CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption) affecting Qs libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves denial-of-service memory exhaustion in qs. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.0.0.

CVE-2014-7191 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2014-7191
GHSA Identifier GHSA-jjv7-qpx3-h62q
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
Affected Product Qs
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix CVE-2014-7191

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

qs fixed: 1.0.0 
npm install qs@1.0.0
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 qs

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2014-7191, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls qs

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Qs in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.0.0), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls qs 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 Qs, 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 prior to 1.0 of `qs` are affected by a denial of service condition. This condition is triggered by parsing a crafted string that deserializes into very large sparse arrays, resulting in the process running out of memory and eventually crashing. ## Recommendation Update to version 1.0.0 or later.

CVE-2014-7191 Affected Qs Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.0.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
qs
npm/qs
npm
< 1.0.0
1.0.0

References

NVD — CVE-2014-7191 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-7191
Qs Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/visionmedia/node-querystring/issues/104
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/raymondfeng/node-querystring/commit/43a604b7847e56bba49d0ce3e222fe89569354d8
access.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2016:13... WEB
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016:1380
exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/967... WEB
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/96729
GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-jjv7-qpx3-h62q
Qs Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/visionmedia/node-querystring
www.npmjs.com/advisories/29 WEB
https://www.npmjs.com/advisories/29
secunia.com/advisories/60026 WEB
http://secunia.com/advisories/60026
secunia.com/advisories/62170 WEB
http://secunia.com/advisories/62170
www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss WEB
http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21685987
www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss WEB
http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21687263
www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss WEB
http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21687928

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2014-7191?
CVE-2014-7191 is a security vulnerability in Qs involving Denial-of-Service Memory Exhaustion in qs under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption.
Which Qs versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.0.0 across affected packages: qs.
What version fixes CVE-2014-7191?
Upgrading to 1.0.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is qs affected?
Yes, qs is affected in releases prior to 1.0.0. Upgrade your dependency to 1.0.0 or later.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2014-7191?
CVE-2014-7191 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-2014-7191?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls qs'. 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-jjv7-qpx3-h62q",
  "modified" : "2021-09-14T19:46:47Z",
  "published" : "2017-10-24T18:33:36Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2014-7191" ],
  "summary" : "Denial-of-Service Memory Exhaustion in qs",
  "details" : "Versions prior to 1.0 of `qs` are affected by a denial of service condition. This condition is triggered by parsing a crafted string that deserializes into very large sparse arrays, resulting in the process running out of memory and eventually crashing.\n\n\n## Recommendation\n\nUpdate to version 1.0.0 or later.",
  "severity" : [ ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "qs"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.0.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-7191"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/visionmedia/node-querystring/issues/104"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/raymondfeng/node-querystring/commit/43a604b7847e56bba49d0ce3e222fe89569354d8"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016:1380"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/96729"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-jjv7-qpx3-h62q"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/visionmedia/node-querystring"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.npmjs.com/advisories/29"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://secunia.com/advisories/60026"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://secunia.com/advisories/62170"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21685987"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21687263"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21687928"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-400" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-06-16T21:43:41Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}