# CVE-2017-16113: Regular Expression Denial of Service in parsejson

> Attackers can cause denial of service in applications using the parsejson module by submitting specially crafted input that triggers excessive regex processing.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.0/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:** Yes
- **Published:** 7 Jun 2018
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** CLSA-2026-1773101682, CLSA-2026-1793204379, GHSA-q75g-2496-mxpp

## What is CVE-2017-16113?

CVE-2017-16113 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in HackerOne parsejson node module, published on 7 Jun 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The parsejson module is vulnerable to regular expression denial of service when untrusted user input is passed into it to be parsed.

Weakness: CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation), CWE-400 (Uncontrolled Resource Consumption)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-16113?

2 open source packages ship an affected version, including parsejson. It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `parsejson` | npm | All versions to 0.0.3 | None |
| `parsejson` | npm | All versions to 0.0.3 | None |

Products: Parsejson Project Parsejson.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-16113?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2017-16113 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-16113 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-16113 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-16113 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in HackerOne parsejson node module, published on 7 Jun 2018. 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-2017-16113 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- parsejson (npm): affected all versions up to 0.0.3; no fix listed
- parsejson (npm): affected all versions up to 0.0.3; no fix listed

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-2017-16113/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-16113/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-16113
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-16113
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-16113

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-16113/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.