# CVE-2017-15871: Denial of service in n/a

> Attackers can cause denial of service in serialize-to-js by exploiting unsafe deserialization of malicious function strings, despite vendor warnings.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 24 Oct 2017
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-57v2-hvjj-f26g

## What is CVE-2017-15871?

CVE-2017-15871 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in n/a, published on 24 Oct 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The deserialize function in serialize-to-js through 1.1.1 allows attackers to cause a denial of service via vectors involving an Immediately Invoked Function Expression "function()" substring, as demonstrated by a "function(){console.log(" call or a simple infinite loop. NOTE: the vendor agrees that denial of service can occur but notes that deserialize is explicitly listed as "harmful" within the README.md file

Weakness: CWE-835 (Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-15871?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Serialize-to-Js Project Serialize-to-Js.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-15871?

No fix has been published for CVE-2017-15871 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2017-15871 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-15871 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2017-5954](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-5954/): Code Execution Through IIFE in serialize-to-js (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2019-16772](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-16772/): regular expressions Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in serialize-to-js (low 3.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-15871 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-15871 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in n/a, published on 24 Oct 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-15871 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-15871/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-15871/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-15871
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-15871
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-15871

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-15871/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.