Shescape: Quadratic-time denial of service in the flag-protection
Shescape versions 2.1.11 through 2.1.13 and 3.0.0 are vulnerable to a quadratic-time denial of service when flag protection is enabled (enabled by default). An attacker can supply large inputs that cause the runtime to increase quadratically, leading to denial of service. The issue has been patched in versions 2.1.14 and 3.0.1. Users are advised to upgrade to these versions or apply workarounds such as restricting input length or stripping content before the last '-' character in untrusted inputs.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
Shescape contains a denial of service vulnerability triggered by the flag protection feature, which is enabled by default. The vulnerability causes the runtime to grow quadratically with input size, allowing attackers to cause significant processing delays or service unavailability with large inputs. This affects versions >=2.1.11 <2.1.14 and >=3.0.0 <3.0.1. The issue has been fixed in versions 2.1.14 and 3.0.1. No patches will be released for versions below 2.0.0. Workarounds include limiting input length or stripping content before the last '-' character in untrusted inputs.
Potential Impact
An attacker can cause a denial of service by providing large inputs that trigger quadratic runtime behavior in the flag protection feature of Shescape. This can lead to significant delays or unavailability of services using affected versions with flag protection enabled.
Mitigation Recommendations
Upgrade to Shescape version 2.1.14 or later, or 3.0.1 or later, where this vulnerability is patched. If upgrading is not immediately possible, mitigate by restricting the length of untrusted inputs or stripping all content before the last '-' character from untrusted inputs. No patches are available for versions below 2.0.0.
Shescape: Quadratic-time denial of service in the flag-protection
Description
Shescape versions 2.1.11 through 2.1.13 and 3.0.0 are vulnerable to a quadratic-time denial of service when flag protection is enabled (enabled by default). An attacker can supply large inputs that cause the runtime to increase quadratically, leading to denial of service. The issue has been patched in versions 2.1.14 and 3.0.1. Users are advised to upgrade to these versions or apply workarounds such as restricting input length or stripping content before the last '-' character in untrusted inputs.
CVSS v4.0
Affected software
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AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
Shescape contains a denial of service vulnerability triggered by the flag protection feature, which is enabled by default. The vulnerability causes the runtime to grow quadratically with input size, allowing attackers to cause significant processing delays or service unavailability with large inputs. This affects versions >=2.1.11 <2.1.14 and >=3.0.0 <3.0.1. The issue has been fixed in versions 2.1.14 and 3.0.1. No patches will be released for versions below 2.0.0. Workarounds include limiting input length or stripping content before the last '-' character in untrusted inputs.
Potential Impact
An attacker can cause a denial of service by providing large inputs that trigger quadratic runtime behavior in the flag protection feature of Shescape. This can lead to significant delays or unavailability of services using affected versions with flag protection enabled.
Mitigation Recommendations
Upgrade to Shescape version 2.1.14 or later, or 3.0.1 or later, where this vulnerability is patched. If upgrading is not immediately possible, mitigate by restricting the length of untrusted inputs or stripping all content before the last '-' character from untrusted inputs. No patches are available for versions below 2.0.0.
Technical Details
- Gcve Source
- db.gcve.eu
- Osv Id
- GHSA-gm3r-q2wp-hw87
- Osv Schema Version
- 1.4.0
- Aliases
- []
- Ecosystems
- ["npm"]
- Database Specific Severity
- HIGH
- Cvss Version
- 4.0
Threat ID: 6a6542199c2644c7f8087e4e
Added to database: 07/25/2026, 23:09:13 UTC
Last enriched: 07/25/2026, 23:49:38 UTC
Last updated: 07/26/2026, 03:43:02 UTC
Views: 4
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