CVE-2021-23446: Handsontable Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-hf66-r44g-p7j9
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-1333
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-23446 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) inefficient regular expression complexity vulnerability (CWE-1333: Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity) affecting Handsontable libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves inefficient regular expression complexity in handsontable. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 10.0.0.

CVE-2021-23446 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-23446
GHSA Identifier GHSA-hf66-r44g-p7j9
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-1333: Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity
Affected Product Handsontable
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-2021-23446

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

handsontable fixed: 10.0.0 
npm install handsontable@10.0.0
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 handsontable

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2021-23446, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls handsontable

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Handsontable in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 10.0.0), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls handsontable 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-1333: Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity, where the product uses a regular expression with a worst-case computational complexity that is inefficient and possibly exponential. In Handsontable, 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

The package handsontable from 0 and before 10.0.0 are vulnerable to Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) in `Handsontable.helper.isNumeric` function.

CVE-2021-23446 Affected Handsontable Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
10.0.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
handsontable
npm/handsontable
npm
< 10.0.0
10.0.0

References

NVD — CVE-2021-23446 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-23446
Handsontable Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/handsontable/handsontable/issues/8752
Handsontable Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/handsontable/handsontable/pull/8742
Handsontable Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/handsontable/handsontable
snyk.io/vuln/snyk-dotnet-ha... WEB
https://snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-DOTNET-HANDSONTABLE-1726793
snyk.io/vuln/snyk-java-orgw... WEB
https://snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-JAVA-ORGWEBJARS-1726795
snyk.io/vuln/snyk-java-orgw... WEB
https://snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-JAVA-ORGWEBJARSBOWER-1726796
snyk.io/vuln/snyk-java-orgw... WEB
https://snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-JAVA-ORGWEBJARSBOWERGITHUBHANDSONTABLE-1726794
snyk.io/vuln/snyk-java-orgw... WEB
https://snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-JAVA-ORGWEBJARSNPM-1726797
snyk.io/vuln/snyk-js-handso... WEB
https://snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-JS-HANDSONTABLE-1726770

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-23446?
CVE-2021-23446 is a security vulnerability in Handsontable involving Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity in handsontable under CWE-1333: Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity.
Which Handsontable versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 10.0.0 across affected packages: handsontable.
What version fixes CVE-2021-23446?
Upgrading to 10.0.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is handsontable affected?
Yes, handsontable is affected in releases prior to 10.0.0. Upgrade your dependency to 10.0.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-23446?
CVE-2021-23446 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-2021-23446?
CVE-2021-23446 is classified under CWE-1333: Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity (The product uses a regular expression with a worst-case computational complexity that is inefficient and possibly exponential.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2021-23446?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls handsontable'. 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-hf66-r44g-p7j9",
  "modified" : "2023-09-05T23:21:06Z",
  "published" : "2021-09-30T17:10:46Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-23446" ],
  "summary" : "Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity in handsontable",
  "details" : "The package handsontable from 0 and before 10.0.0 are vulnerable to Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) in `Handsontable.helper.isNumeric` function.",
  "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" : "handsontable"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "10.0.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-23446"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/handsontable/handsontable/issues/8752"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/handsontable/handsontable/pull/8742"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/handsontable/handsontable"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-DOTNET-HANDSONTABLE-1726793"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-JAVA-ORGWEBJARS-1726795"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-JAVA-ORGWEBJARSBOWER-1726796"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-JAVA-ORGWEBJARSBOWERGITHUBHANDSONTABLE-1726794"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-JAVA-ORGWEBJARSNPM-1726797"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-JS-HANDSONTABLE-1726770"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-1333" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-09-30T16:50:57Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2021-09-29T17:15:00Z"
  }
}