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High, CVSS 7.7amended

Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) in cross-spawn

CVE-2024-21538GHSA-3xgq-45jj-v275

What to do

Vendor fix available. Upgrade each affected package to the fixed version on its release line (cross-spawn 7.0.5, 6.0.6), redeploy, then verify what is actually installed.

This page has no inventory attached, so it cannot say whether you are affected. A vendor fix is not proof that your deployment is fixed.

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Affected packages

  • npm cross-spawn

    Affected
    >= 7.0.0, < 7.0.5< 6.0.6
    Fixed in
    6.0.6, 7.0.5

Sources

Severity and exploitation
Exploitation
No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.
CVSS 4.0
7.7 · CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P · score source
EPSS
  • CVE-2024-21538: 0.87% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 58.79 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.
Source description

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Versions of the package cross-spawn before 7.0.5 are vulnerable to Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) due to improper input sanitization. An attacker can increase the CPU usage and crash the program by crafting a very large and well crafted string.

Dates and revisions
Published by the source
Last modified by the source
Source last checked
  1. Revision 3 · amended ·

    Amended from ghsa record GHSA-3xgq-45jj-v275

  2. Revision 2 · amended ·

    Reviewed OSV alias/range/CVSS4 correction; package source scopes and original publication preserved. No customer finding resolved.

  3. Revision 1 · created ·

    Published from osv record GHSA-3xgq-45jj-v275

Agent brief

Preview the exact text before you copy it. Commands are read-only suggestions; review them before running anything.

# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2024-21538

Advisory: Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) in cross-spawn
IDs: CVE-2024-21538, GHSA-3xgq-45jj-v275
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2024-21538 (revision 3, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 12:37 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: High (CVSS 7.7)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: cross-spawn 7.0.5, 6.0.6. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- npm cross-spawn: affected >= 7.0.0, < 7.0.5; < 6.0.6; fixed in 6.0.6, 7.0.5

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- `npm ls cross-spawn --all`: lists every installed copy and version, including transitive ones. Run in the project root after `npm ci`.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on cross-spawn.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-3xgq-45jj-v275 (OSV record GHSA-3xgq-45jj-v275 lists affected ranges: npm cross-spawn >=7.0.0 =0 <6.0.6 (fixed))
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-3xgq-45jj-v275 (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-3xgq-45jj-v275 lists affected ranges: npm cross-spawn >=7.0.0 =0 <6.0.6)

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