CVE-2020-7754: Npm user validate Denial of Service Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-pw54-mh39-w3hc
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-400
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2020-7754 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) denial of service vulnerability (CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption) affecting Npm user validate libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves regular expression denial of service in npm-user-validate. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.0.1.

CVE-2020-7754 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2020-7754
GHSA Identifier GHSA-pw54-mh39-w3hc
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
Affected Product Npm user validate
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 CVE-2020-7754

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

npm-user-validate fixed: 1.0.1 
npm install npm-user-validate@1.0.1
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 npm-user-validate

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2020-7754, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls npm-user-validate

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Npm user validate in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.0.1), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls npm-user-validate 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 Npm user validate, 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

This affects the package npm-user-validate before 1.0.1. The regex that validates user emails took exponentially longer to process long input strings beginning with @ characters.

CVE-2020-7754 Affected Npm user validate Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.0.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
npm-user-validate
npm/npm-user-validate
npm
< 1.0.1
1.0.1

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/npm/npm-user-validate/security/advisories/GHSA-xgh6-85xh-479p
NVD — CVE-2020-7754 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-7754
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/npm/npm-user-validate/commit/c8a87dac1a4cc6988b5418f30411a8669bef204e
snyk.io/vuln/snyk-java-orgw... WEB
https://snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-JAVA-ORGWEBJARSNPM-1019353
snyk.io/vuln/snyk-js-npmuse... WEB
https://snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-JS-NPMUSERVALIDATE-1019352

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-7754?
CVE-2020-7754 is a security vulnerability in Npm user validate involving Regular expression denial of service in npm-user-validate under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption.
Which Npm user validate versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.0.1 across affected packages: npm-user-validate.
What version fixes CVE-2020-7754?
Upgrading to 1.0.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is npm-user-validate affected?
Yes, npm-user-validate is affected in releases prior to 1.0.1. Upgrade your dependency to 1.0.1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-7754?
CVE-2020-7754 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 CVE-2020-7754?
CVE-2020-7754 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-2020-7754?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls npm-user-validate'. 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-pw54-mh39-w3hc",
  "modified" : "2021-04-20T17:21:44Z",
  "published" : "2021-05-10T19:08:15Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2020-7754" ],
  "summary" : "Regular expression denial of service in npm-user-validate",
  "details" : "This affects the package npm-user-validate before 1.0.1. The regex that validates user emails took exponentially longer to process long input strings beginning with @ characters.",
  "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" : "npm-user-validate"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.0.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/npm/npm-user-validate/security/advisories/GHSA-xgh6-85xh-479p"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-7754"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/npm/npm-user-validate/commit/c8a87dac1a4cc6988b5418f30411a8669bef204e"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-JAVA-ORGWEBJARSNPM-1019353"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-JS-NPMUSERVALIDATE-1019352"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-400" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-04-20T17:21:44Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2020-10-27T15:15:00Z"
  }
}