CVE-2024-21538

Application crash via argument regex backtracking

Published Nov 8, 2024 · Updated Aug 7, 2026

Regular expression denial of service in Moxy Studio cross-spawn before 6.0.6 and 7.0.0 through 7.0.4 allows attackers to crash applications. The Windows escapeArgument path in lib/util/escape.js applies backtracking regular expressions to attacker-controlled command arguments, consuming excessive CPU on a long crafted string. Exploitation requires a consuming Node.js application to pass attacker-controlled data into a Windows child-process argument; the bounded consequence is application unresponsiveness or a crash.

CVSS severity7.5
High
EPSS probability0.87%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Regular expression denial of service in Moxy Studio cross-spawn before 6.0.6 and 7.0.0 through 7.0.4 allows attackers to crash applications. The Windows escapeArgument path in lib/util/escape.js applies backtracking regular expressions to attacker-controlled command arguments, consuming excessive CPU on a long crafted string. Exploitation requires a consuming Node.js application to pass attacker-controlled data into a Windows child-process argument; the bounded consequence is application unresponsiveness or a crash.

The record

CVE
CVE-2024-21538
Published
Nov 8, 2024
Updated
Aug 7, 2026
Vendor
Moxy Studio
Product
cross-spawn
Classifications
CWE-1333, T1499.004
Attack vector
Unavailable
Privileges
Unavailable

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Nov 8, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 7, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=0 <6.0.6
  2. Affected versionversion=0 <7.0.5
  3. Affected versionversion=7.0.0 <7.0.5
  4. Affected versionversion=7.0.2 <7.0.6

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorUnavailable in this record.
Required privilegesUnavailable in this record.

What is affected?

Moxy Studio · cross-spawnversion=0 <6.0.6; version=0 <7.0.5; version=7.0.0 <7.0.5; version=7.0.2 <7.0.6

Published CVSS scores

7.7GitHub Advisory DatabaseCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P
5.3Amazon LinuxCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
7.5GitLab Advisory DatabaseCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
VectorUnavailable
PrivilegesUnavailable
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-1333Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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