VulnerabilityPublished 13 Mar 2026Updated 16 Mar 2026

CVE-2026-32630: sindresorhus file-type · Data Amplification

Affects sindresorhus file-typeSource CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.3 Medium : upgrade to 21.3.2 when convenient.

Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 11:52 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.3Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 23% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 21.3.2

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: None
Availability: Low

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: Low: Performance is reduced or there are interruptions in resource availability. Even if repeated exploitation of the vulnerability is possible, the attacker does not have the ability to completely deny service to legitimate users. The resources in the impacted component are either partially available all of the time, or fully available only some of the time, but overall there is no direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 13 Mar 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 30 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade sindresorhus file-type to 21.3.2.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
sindresorhusfile-type	Affected >=20.0.0 <21.3.2	Fixed in 21.3.2

AI-suggested

To mitigate this vulnerability, organizations should upgrade the sindresorhus file-type library to version 21.3.2 or later, where the issue is fixed. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, implement input validation and size checks on ZIP files before processing them with file-type detection functions. Limit the size of files accepted for type detection and reject suspiciously small compressed files that could decompress into large payloads. Employ resource usage monitoring and impose memory usage limits on processes handling file uploads to detect and prevent excessive consumption. Consider sandboxing or isolating file-type detection operations to contain potential denial of service effects. Additionally, review and update dependency management practices to ensure timely application of security patches in third-party libraries. Finally, monitor application logs for unusual memory usage patterns or crashes related to file processing.

Description

file-type detects the file type of a file, stream, or data. From 20.0.0 to 21.3.1, a crafted ZIP file can trigger excessive memory growth during type detection in file-type when using fileTypeFromBuffer(), fileTypeFromBlob(), or fileTypeFromFile(). The ZIP inflate output limit is enforced for stream-based detection, but not for known-size inputs. As a result, a small compressed ZIP can cause file-type to inflate and process a much larger payload while probing ZIP-based formats such as OOXML. This vulnerability is fixed in 21.3.2.

Impact

Organizations using the sindresorhus file-type library versions 20.0.0 to 21.3.1 in their applications or services are at risk of denial of service attacks. An attacker can submit a crafted ZIP file that triggers excessive memory consumption during file type detection, potentially causing application crashes or system instability. This can disrupt services that rely on file-type detection for processing uploads, file validation, or content inspection. The impact is primarily on availability, with no direct compromise of confidentiality or integrity. However, denial of service can lead to operational downtime, degraded user experience, and increased resource costs. Systems with limited memory or those processing untrusted file uploads are particularly vulnerable. Although no known exploits are reported in the wild, the ease of triggering this condition without authentication or user interaction increases the risk of opportunistic attacks. This vulnerability can affect web applications, cloud services, and any software components that incorporate the vulnerable file-type library for file format detection.

CWE-409Improper Handling of Highly Compressed Data (Data Amplification) (opens in a new tab)
Base weakness
The product does not handle or incorrectly handles a compressed input with a very high compression ratio that produces a large output.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
File Upload (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V12.1.2 (opens in a new tab)
V12.1.1 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 20 Mar 2026, 23:25 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-409

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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