Impact

What kind of vulnerability is it?

It is a Denial of Service (DoS) vulnerability caused by CPU exhaustion. When serializing a specially crafted "array-like" object (an object that inherits from Array.prototype but has a very large length property), the process enters an intensive loop that consumes 100% CPU and hangs indefinitely.

Who is impacted?

Applications that use serialize-javascript to serialize untrusted or user-controlled objects are at risk. While direct exploitation is difficult, it becomes a high-priority threat if the application is also vulnerable to Prototype Pollution or handles untrusted data via YAML Deserialization, as these could be used to inject the malicious object.

Patches

Has the problem been patched?

Yes, the issue has been patched by replacing instanceof Array checks with Array.isArray() and using Object.keys() for sparse array detection.

What versions should users upgrade to?

Users should upgrade to v7.0.5 or later.

Workarounds

Is there a way for users to fix or remediate the vulnerability without upgrading?

There is no direct code-level workaround within the library itself. However, users can mitigate the risk by:

Validating and sanitizing all input before passing it to the serialize() function. Ensuring the environment is protected against Prototype Pollution. Upgrading to v7.0.5 as soon as possible.

Acknowledgements

Serialize JavaScript thanks Tomer Aberbach (@TomerAberbach) for discovering and privately disclosing this issue.

Improper authorization in handler for custom URL scheme issue in "Yahoo! Shopping" App for Android versions prior to 14.15.0 allows a remote unauthenticated attacker may lead a user to access an arbitrary website on the vulnerable App. As a result, the user may become a victim of a phishing attack.

'Yahoo! JAPAN' App for Android v2.3.1 to v3.161.1 and 'Yahoo! JAPAN' App for iOS v3.2.2 to v4.109.0 contain a cross-site scripting vulnerability. If this vulnerability is exploited, an arbitrary script may be executed on the WebView of 'Yahoo! JAPAN' App via other app installed on the user's device.

Open redirect vulnerability in Athenz v1.8.24 and earlier allows remote attackers to redirect users to arbitrary web sites and conduct phishing attacks via a specially crafted page.

Untrusted search path vulnerability in Installer of Yahoo! Toolbar (for Internet explorer) v8.0.0.6 and earlier, with its timestamp prior to June 13, 2017, 18:18:55 allows an attacker to gain privileges via a Trojan horse DLL in an unspecified directory.

Multiple stack-based buffer overflows in Yahoo! Messenger 11.5.0.228 and earlier allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code via the (1) shortcut or (2) title keys in an emoticons.xml file.

The Yahoo! Japan Box (aka jp.co.yahoo.android.ybox) application 1.5.1 for Android does not verify X.509 certificates from SSL servers, which allows man-in-the-middle attackers to spoof servers and obtain sensitive information via a crafted certificate.

Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in clickstream.js in Y! Toolbar plugin for FireFox 3.1.0.20130813024103 for Mac, and 2.5.9.2013418100420 for Windows, allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via a crafted URL that is stored by the victim.

Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in uploader.swf in the Uploader component in Yahoo! YUI 2.5.0 through 2.9.0 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the allowedDomain parameter.

The Yahoo! Japan Shopping application 1.4 and earlier for Android does not verify X.509 certificates from SSL servers, which allows man-in-the-middle attackers to spoof servers and obtain sensitive information via a crafted certificate.

The Yahoo! Japan Yafuoku! application 4.3.0 and earlier for iOS and Android does not verify X.509 certificates from SSL servers, which allows man-in-the-middle attackers to spoof servers and obtain sensitive information via a crafted certificate.

Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in uploader.swf in the Uploader component in Yahoo! YUI 3.2.0 through 3.9.1, as used in Moodle through 2.1.10, 2.2.x before 2.2.11, 2.3.x before 2.3.8, 2.4.x before 2.4.5, 2.5.x before 2.5.1, and other products, allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via a crafted string in a URL.

Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in flashuploader.swf in the Uploader component in Yahoo! YUI 3.5.0 through 3.9.1, as used in Moodle through 2.1.10, 2.2.x before 2.2.11, 2.3.x before 2.3.8, 2.4.x before 2.4.5, 2.5.x before 2.5.1, and other products, allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via a crafted string in a URL.

Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in io.swf in the IO Utility component in Yahoo! YUI 3.0.0 through 3.9.1, as used in Moodle through 2.1.10, 2.2.x before 2.2.11, 2.3.x before 2.3.8, 2.4.x before 2.4.5, 2.5.x before 2.5.1, and other products, allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via a crafted string in a URL.

Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in io.swf in the IO Utility component in Yahoo! YUI 3.10.2, as used in Moodle through 2.1.10, 2.2.x before 2.2.11, 2.3.x before 2.3.8, 2.4.x before 2.4.5, 2.5.x before 2.5.1, and other products, allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via a crafted string in a URL. NOTE: this vulnerability exists because of a CVE-2013-4939 regression.

The Yahoo! Tumblr app before 3.4.1 for iOS sends cleartext credentials, which allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive information by sniffing the network.

The Yahoo! Browser application 1.4.4 and earlier for Android allows remote attackers to spoof the address bar via vectors related to URL display, a different vulnerability than CVE-2013-2307.

The Yahoo! Browser application before 1.4.3 for Android allows remote attackers to spoof the address bar via a crafted web site.

Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Flash component infrastructure in YUI 2.4.0 through 2.9.0 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via vectors related to charts.swf, a similar issue to CVE-2010-4207.

Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Flash component infrastructure in YUI 2.5.0 through 2.9.0 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via vectors related to uploader.swf, a similar issue to CVE-2010-4208.

Bugzilla is vulnerable to cross-site scripting, caused by improper validation of user-supplied input by the Flash component infrastructure in YUI script. A remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability using attack vectors related to swfstore.swf to execute script in a victim's Web browser within the security context of the hosting Web site, once the URL is clicked. An attacker could use this vulnerability to steal the victim's cookie-based authentication credentials.

Yahoo! Toolbar 1.0.0.5 and earlier for Chrome and Safari allows remote attackers to modify the configured search URL, and intercept search terms, via a crafted web page.

The Yahoo! Japan Yahoo! Browser application 1.2.0 and earlier for Android does not properly implement the WebView class, which allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive information via a crafted application.

Integer overflow in the CYImage::LoadJPG method in YImage.dll in Yahoo! Messenger before 11.5.0.155, when photo sharing is enabled, might allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted JPG image that triggers a heap-based buffer overflow.

Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the addItem method in the Menu widget in YUI before 2.9.0 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via a field that is added to a menu, related to documentation that specifies this field as a text field rather than an HTML field, a similar issue to CVE-2010-4569 and CVE-2010-4570.

Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Flash component infrastructure in YUI 2.5.0 through 2.8.1, as used in Bugzilla, Moodle, and other products, allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via vectors related to uploader/assets/uploader.swf.

Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Flash component infrastructure in YUI 2.8.0 through 2.8.1, as used in Bugzilla 3.7.1 through 3.7.3 and 4.1, allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via vectors related to swfstore/swfstore.swf.

Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Flash component infrastructure in YUI 2.4.0 through 2.8.1, as used in Bugzilla, Moodle, and other products, allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via vectors related to charts/assets/charts.swf.

An ActiveX control in YahooBridgeLib.dll for Yahoo! Messenger 9.0.0.2162, and possibly other 9.0 versions, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and application crash) by calling the RegisterMe method with a long argument.