CVE-2016-10542: Ws Denial of Service Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-6663-c963-2gqg
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CWE-400
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2016-10542 is a HIGH denial of service vulnerability (CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption) affecting Ws libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves dos due to excessively large websocket message in ws. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.1.1.

CVE-2016-10542 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2016-10542
GHSA Identifier GHSA-6663-c963-2gqg
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
Affected Product Ws
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix CVE-2016-10542

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

ws fixed: 1.1.1 
npm install ws@1.1.1
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 ws

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2016-10542, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls ws

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Ws in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.1.1), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls ws 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 Ws, 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 `ws` do not appropriately limit the size of incoming websocket payloads, which may result in a denial of service condition when the node process crashes after receiving a large payload. ## Recommendation Update to version 1.1.1 or later. Alternatively, set the `maxpayload` option for the `ws` server to a value smaller than 256MB.

CVE-2016-10542 Affected Ws Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.1.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
ws
npm/ws
npm
< 1.1.1
1.1.1

References

NVD — CVE-2016-10542 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-10542
Ws Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/nodejs/node/issues/7388
GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-6663-c963-2gqg
www.npmjs.com/advisories/120 WEB
https://www.npmjs.com/advisories/120

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2016-10542?
CVE-2016-10542 is a security vulnerability in Ws involving DoS due to excessively large websocket message in ws under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption.
Which Ws versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.1.1 across affected packages: ws.
What version fixes CVE-2016-10542?
Upgrading to 1.1.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is ws affected?
Yes, ws is affected in releases prior to 1.1.1. Upgrade your dependency to 1.1.1 or later.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2016-10542?
CVE-2016-10542 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-2016-10542?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls ws'. 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-6663-c963-2gqg",
  "modified" : "2020-08-31T18:11:28Z",
  "published" : "2019-02-18T23:58:35Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2016-10542" ],
  "summary" : "DoS due to excessively large websocket message in ws",
  "details" : "Affected versions of `ws` do not appropriately limit the size of incoming websocket payloads, which may result in a denial of service condition when the node process crashes after receiving a large payload.\n\n\n\n## Recommendation\n\nUpdate to version 1.1.1 or later. \nAlternatively, set the `maxpayload` option for the `ws` server to a value smaller than 256MB.",
  "severity" : [ ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "ws"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.1.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-10542"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/nodejs/node/issues/7388"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-6663-c963-2gqg"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.npmjs.com/advisories/120"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-400" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-06-16T21:18:11Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}