OpenSSL security releases may require Node.js security releases

Summary

The Node.js project may be releasing new versions across all of its supported release lines early next week to incorporate upstream patches from OpenSSL. Please read on for full details.

OpenSSL

The OpenSSL project announced this week that they will be releasing versions 1.0.2t and 1.1.1d on the 10th of September, UTC. The releases will fix two security defects that are labelled as "LOW" severity under their security policy, meaning they are:

... issues such as those that only affect the openssl command line utility, or unlikely configurations.

Node.js v8.x use OpenSSL v1.0.2 and Node.js v10.x and v12.x both use OpenSSL v1.1.1, therefore all active release lines are impacted by this update.

At this stage, due to embargo, the exact nature of these defects is uncertain as well as the impact they will have on Node.js users.

After assessing the impact on Node.js, it will be decided whether the issues fixed require immediate security releases of Node.js, or whether they can be included in the normally scheduled updates.

Please monitor the nodejs-sec Google Group for updates, including a decision within 24 hours after the OpenSSL release regarding release timing, and full details of the defects upon eventual release: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/nodejs-sec

The current Node.js security policy can be found at https://nodejs.org/en/security/, including information on how to report a vulnerability in Node.js.

Subscribe to the low-volume announcement-only nodejs-sec mailing list at https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/nodejs-sec to stay up to date on security vulnerabilities and security-related releases of Node.js and the projects maintained in the nodejs GitHub organisation.