Process hang via inefficient header normalization regex
Published Feb 16, 2023 · Updated Mar 10, 2025
Regular expression denial of service in Node.js Undici before 5.19.1 allows attackers to hang a process through crafted header values. The headerValueNormalize() utility applies a trailing-whitespace regular expression that repeatedly rescans a long internal whitespace run when the end anchor cannot match. Exploitation requires an application to pass attacker-controlled values to Headers.set() or Headers.append(), blocking that Node.js event loop without disclosing or changing data.
Summary
What happened
Regular expression denial of service in Node.js Undici before 5.19.1 allows attackers to hang a process through crafted header values. The headerValueNormalize() utility applies a trailing-whitespace regular expression that repeatedly rescans a long internal whitespace run when the end anchor cannot match. Exploitation requires an application to pass attacker-controlled values to Headers.set() or Headers.append(), blocking that Node.js event loop without disclosing or changing data.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2023-24807
- Published
- Feb 16, 2023
- Updated
- Mar 10, 2025
- Vendor
- Node.js
- Product
- Undici
- Classifications
- CWE-1333, CWE-20, T1499.004
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Feb 16, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Mar 10, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.
Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=< 5.19.1
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- Upstream ReDoS regression payloadproof of concept · demonstrated
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
Check the software in your environment
Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.
Book a demo