DOS security vulnerability, October 2017

Summary

Updates are now available for all active Node.js release lines. These include the fix for the vulnerability identified in the initial announcement.

We recommend that all users upgrade as soon as possible.

Downloads

Node.js-specific security flaws

Node.js was susceptible to a remote DoS attack due to a change that came in as part of zlib v1.2.9. In zlib v1.2.9 8 became an invalid value for the windowBits parameter and Node's zlib module will crash or throw an exception (depending on the version) if you call:

zlib.createDeflateRaw({windowBits: 8})

The windowBits parameter controls how much of a message zlib keeps in memory while compressing it. A larger "window", as it's called, means more opportunities to spot and compress repeated bits of text, but results in higher memory usage. windowBits is the base-2 logarithm of the size of this window in bytes, and previously could take any integer value from 8 to 15.

This problem (Node.js crashing or throwing an exception) could be remotely exploited using some of the existing WebSocket clients that may request a value of 8 for windowBits in certain cases or with a custom built WebSocket client. There may also exist other vectors through which a zLib operation would be initiated by a remote request with a window size that results in a value of windowBits of 8.

This problem was resolved within Node.js by changing any request for a windowBits size of 8 to use a windowsBits size of 9 instead. This is consistent with previous zLib behavior and we believe minimizes the impact of the change on existing applications.

This vulnerability has been assigned CVE-2017-14919.

Original post is included below

Summary

The Node.js project will be releasing new versions of 4.x, 6.x, and 8.x the week of the 24th of October to incorporate a security fix.

Denial of Service Vulnerability

Versions 4.8.2 and later, 6.10.2 and later, as well as all versions of 8.x are vulnerable to an issue that can be used by an external attacker to cause a denial of service. The severity of this vulnerability is HIGH and users of the affected version should plan to upgrade when a fix is made available.

Impact

Versions 4.8.2 and later of Node.js are vulnerable.

Versions 6.10.2 and later of Node.js are vulnerable.

Versions 8.x of Node.js are vulnerable.

Release timing

Releases will be available at, or shortly after, the 24th of October along with disclosure of the details for the vulnerability in order to allow for complete impact assessment by users.

The current Node.js security policy can be found at https://nodejs.org/en/security/.

Please contact [email protected] if you wish 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.