Vulnerabilities in pkg:npm/papaparse

PACKAGE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-qvjc-g5vr-mfgr
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Advisory Summary

CVE-2020-36649 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) denial of service vulnerability (CWE-185: Incorrect Regular Expression) affecting Papaparse libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves regular expression denial of service in papaparse. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 5.2.0.

2 Known Advisory Record(s)
Package Vulnerability Intelligence

pkg:npm/papaparse

2 Known Advisory Record(s)

Vulnerability advisories affecting package pkg:npm/papaparse. Select an advisory below to view technical details or fixes.

Advisory ID CVE / NVD Severity Summary
GHSA-qvjc-g5vr-mfgr CVE-2020-36649 HIGH Regular Expression Denial of Service in papaparse
GHSA-798h-g4j5-5537 - HIGH Duplicate Advisory: PapaParse Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity vulnerability

CVE-2020-36649 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2020-36649
GHSA Identifier GHSA-qvjc-g5vr-mfgr
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-185: Incorrect Regular Expression
Affected Product Papaparse
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-2020-36649

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

papaparse fixed: 5.2.0 
npm install papaparse@5.2.0
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 papaparse

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2020-36649, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls papaparse

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Papaparse in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 5.2.0), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls papaparse 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-185: Incorrect Regular Expression, where the product specifies a regular expression in a way that causes data to be improperly matched or compared. In Papaparse, 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 of `papaparse` prior to 5.2.0 are vulnerable to Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDos). The `parse` function contains a malformed regular expression that takes exponentially longer to process non-numerical inputs. This allows attackers to stall systems and lead to Denial of Service. ## Recommendation Upgrade to version 5.2.0 or later.

CVE-2020-36649 Affected Papaparse Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
5.2.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
papaparse
npm/papaparse
npm
< 5.2.0
5.2.0

References

NVD — CVE-2020-36649 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-36649
Papaparse Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/mholt/PapaParse/issues/777
Papaparse Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/mholt/PapaParse/pull/779
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/mholt/PapaParse/commit/235a12758cd77266d2e98fd715f53536b34ad621
Papaparse Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/mholt/PapaParse
Papaparse Release RELEASE
https://github.com/mholt/PapaParse/releases/tag/5.2.0
snyk.io/vuln/snyk-js-papapa... WEB
https://snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-JS-PAPAPARSE-564258
vuldb.com/ WEB
https://vuldb.com/?ctiid.218004
vuldb.com/ WEB
https://vuldb.com/?id.218004

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-36649?
CVE-2020-36649 is a security vulnerability in Papaparse involving Regular Expression Denial of Service in papaparse under CWE-185: Incorrect Regular Expression.
Which Papaparse versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 5.2.0 across affected packages: papaparse.
What version fixes CVE-2020-36649?
Upgrading to 5.2.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is papaparse affected?
Yes, papaparse is affected in releases prior to 5.2.0. Upgrade your dependency to 5.2.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-36649?
CVE-2020-36649 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-2020-36649?
CVE-2020-36649 is classified under CWE-185: Incorrect Regular Expression (The product specifies a regular expression in a way that causes data to be improperly matched or compared.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2020-36649?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls papaparse'. 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-qvjc-g5vr-mfgr",
  "modified" : "2025-06-16T14:03:31Z",
  "published" : "2020-09-04T18:03:04Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2020-36649" ],
  "summary" : "Regular Expression Denial of Service in papaparse",
  "details" : "Versions of `papaparse` prior to 5.2.0 are vulnerable to Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDos). The `parse` function contains a malformed regular expression that takes exponentially longer to process non-numerical inputs. This allows attackers to stall systems and lead to Denial of Service.\n\n\n## Recommendation\n\nUpgrade to version 5.2.0 or later.",
  "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" : "papaparse"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "5.2.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-36649"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/mholt/PapaParse/issues/777"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/mholt/PapaParse/pull/779"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/mholt/PapaParse/commit/235a12758cd77266d2e98fd715f53536b34ad621"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/mholt/PapaParse"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/mholt/PapaParse/releases/tag/5.2.0"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-JS-PAPAPARSE-564258"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://vuldb.com/?ctiid.218004"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://vuldb.com/?id.218004"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-185" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-08-31T19:02:01Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}