# CVE-2022-37259: steal Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity vulnerability via string variable

> Attackers can cause a denial of service in stealjs by exploiting a Regular Expression Denial of Service flaw in the babel.js component.

- **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:** 20 Sep 2022
- **Updated:** 28 May 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-rgqx-226f-2xp4

## What is CVE-2022-37259?

CVE-2022-37259 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in n/a, published on 20 Sep 2022. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) flaw was found in stealjs steal 2.2.4 via the string variable in babel.js.

Weakness: CWE-1333 (Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-37259?

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


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `steal` | npm | All versions to 2.3.0 | None |
| `steal` | npm | All versions to 2.3.0 | None |

Products: Stealjs Steal.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-37259?

No fix has been published for CVE-2022-37259 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2022-37259 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-37259 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2022-37265](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-37265/): steal vulnerable to Prototype Pollution via alias variable (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2022-37258](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-37258/): steal vulnerable to Prototype Pollution (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2022-37257](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-37257/): steal vulnerable to Prototype Pollution via requestedVersion variable (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2022-37264](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-37264/): steal vulnerable to Prototype Pollution via optionName variable (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2022-37266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-37266/): steal vulnerable to Prototype Pollution via key variable in babel.js (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-37259 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-37259 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in n/a, published on 20 Sep 2022. 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-2022-37259 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- steal (npm): affected all versions up to 2.3.0; no fix listed
- steal (npm): affected all versions up to 2.3.0; 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-2022-37259/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-37259/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-37259
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-37259
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-37259

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-37259/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.