GHSA-c83g-rgw3-j3cx

Dashboard / Vulnerabilities / GHSA-c83g-rgw3-j3cx

GHSA-c83g-rgw3-j3cx

Summary: Browserslist: Unbounded memory growth (no cache eviction) via distinct query results, leading to eventual OOM

Details: ## Vulnerability Details **File**: `index.js` **Location**: `cache` (browserslist()'s result cache, line ~402) and `parseCache` (parseQueries()'s AST cache) ### Root Cause ```js var cache = {} var parseCache = {} function browserslist(queries, opts) { ... var cacheKey = JSON.stringify([queries, context]) if (cache[cacheKey]) return cache[cacheKey] ... if (!env.env.BROWSERSLIST_DISABLE_CACHE) { cache[cacheKey] = result } return result } function parseQueries(queries) { var cacheKey = JSON.stringify(queries) if (cacheKey in parseCache) return parseCache[cacheKey] var result = parseWithoutCache(QUERIES, queries) if (!env.env.BROWSERSLIST_DISABLE_CACHE) { parseCache[cacheKey] = result } ... } ``` Every distinct `(queries, context)` pair is cached forever — no size cap, TTL, or eviction. `browserslist.clearCaches()` never resets either object (it only resets `node.js`'s own filesystem caches); the only opt-out is the `BROWSERSLIST_DISABLE_CACHE` env var, controlled by the *calling application*, not an attacker. Some short, valid queries amplify this badly. The `since <year>-<month>-<day>` query type (`/^since (\d+)-(\d+)-(\d+)$/i`) accepts **any** digit combination — `Date.UTC()` normalizes rather than rejects out-of-range values — giving an effectively unbounded space of ~17-byte distinct cache keys, each of which resolves to (and caches) a result close to the full ~8.5 KB browser list for any sufficiently old year. ### Measured Impact 20,000 distinct `since <year>-<month>-<day>` queries (~330 KB total input, `--expose-gc` before/after measurement to rule out uncollected garbage) retained **over 50 MB** of heap permanently — roughly **150x** amplification, growing linearly with no cap observed up to 40,000 queries (52.3 MB). ### Attack Scenario Any long-running process (server, daemon, warm CI worker) that calls `browserslist()` with a query value that varies across requests/items and is influenced, even partially, by external input accumulates one cache entry per distinct value ever seen. An attacker who can influence that value across *many* requests (this is a volumetric attack, unlike the single-request DoS findings from this same research pass) sends a stream of cheap, distinct queries (e.g. `since 1900-01-01`, `since 1900-01-02`, ...) until the process runs out of memory and crashes. ### Recommended Fix (implemented and verified) Replace both plain-object caches with `Map`s bounded to a fixed maximum entry count, evicting the oldest entry once the cap is reached (`Map` preserves insertion order, so `.keys().next().value` is always oldest): ```js var CACHE_MAX_ENTRIES = 500 function boundedCacheSet(map, key, value) { if (map.size >= CACHE_MAX_ENTRIES) { map.delete(map.keys().next().value) } map.set(key, value) } var cache = new Map() var parseCache = new Map() ``` (read sites changed to `.has()`/`.get()`, write sites to `boundedCacheSet()`) **Verification**: - `NODE_ENV=test npx uvu test .test.js` → 301/301 pass unmodified (`test/cache.test.js` exercises `clearCaches()`/`BROWSERSLIST_DISABLE_CACHE` against `node.js`'s separate filesystem caches, unaffected here); confirmed a repeated identical call still returns the cached reference. - Re-ran the memory PoC post-fix: heap stayed flat at ~4.9 MB after 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, and 40,000 distinct `since`-date queries (was 10.5 → 16.5 → 28.4 → 52.3 MB pre-fix). ### Impact - **Who is affected**: Long-running processes calling `browserslist()` with query values that vary across requests/items and are influenced by external input. - **What an attacker achieves**: DoS via eventual out-of-memory crash, given sustained traffic over time (not a single small payload). - **Conditions required**: No authentication; requires volume rather than a single request, hence Medium rather than High severity. ### Verification Environment browserslist @ HEAD (== v4.28.6, current latest stable release) under local Node.js v20.19.5, run with `--expose-gc` for accurate heap measurement. ### Note Found during a broader review of this codebase in the same research pass that produced GHSA-rrmg-cfrq-23vv (parse.js algorithmic complexity), GHSA-g6p8-hj8g-x889 (baseline regexp ReDoS), GHSA-73wf-gq98-2v4g (normalizeStats crash/prototype write), and GHSA-h633-868p-5rfw (SCOPED_CONFIG__PATTERN ReDoS) — all single-request DoS vectors. This one is different in character (volumetric, not single-request) and is reported separately/scored lower accordingly.

References: https://github.com/browserslist/browserslist/security/advisories/GHSA-c83g-rgw3-j3cx, https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-73089, https://github.com/browserslist/browserslist/commit/f2931a3ff2a3a31abf84ef01a7400b270aad6405, https://github.com/browserslist/browserslist, https://github.com/browserslist/browserslist/releases/tag/4.28.7