How severe is CVE-2018-1109?

No CVSS score has been assigned to CVE-2018-1109 yet. Review the advisory details and affected package list to assess your exposure.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2018-1109?

CVE-2018-1109 affects the following packages: braces (npm). Ecosystems affected: npm.

How do I fix CVE-2018-1109?

Update braces to 2.3.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2018-1109 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2018-1109 in my npm dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for braces, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate CVE-2018-1109 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Cap what an attacker can consume: apply request size, rate and timeout limits in front of the affected component, and run it with memory and CPU limits so exhaustion degrades one worker rather than the whole service.

Is CVE-2018-1109 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 1 known exploit references for CVE-2018-1109, including 1 in-the-wild exploitation observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2018-1109?

CVE-2018-1109 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 1.4%, placing it in the 72th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2018-1109?

CVE-2018-1109 is classified as CWE-185 (CWE-185), Uncontrolled Resource Consumption (CWE-400). These weakness types describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

When was CVE-2018-1109 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2018-1109 was published on January 6, 2022 and was last updated on November 26, 2025. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

📦 npm

Not in CISA KEV

CVE-2018-1109 — braces

Fix: micromatch/braces@abdafb0

CVE-2018-1109 is a CWE-185 vulnerability in braces. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for braces — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) in braces

Published

Jan 6, 2022

Updated

Nov 26, 2025

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

1 known

Exploitation data as of Oct 10, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

1.4%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk+0.03%

Lower risk than most CVEs72th percentile — riskier than 72% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected

How broadly this vulnerability is actually deployed: weekly install volume shows current usage, and reverse-dependency count shows how many other packages break if it stays unpatched.

3Kother npm packages depend on this — each one inherits the vulnerability until it's patched upstream

bracesnpm

167.8Mdownloads / week

Description

A vulnerability was found in Braces versions from v2.2.0 up to but not including v2.3.1. Affected versions of this package are vulnerable to Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) attacks. This has been patched in version 2.3.1.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
📦npm	`braces`	≥ 2.2.0&&< 2.3.1	2.3.1`npm install braces@2.3.1`

Affected Products

1 product · 1 configurations

Application

bracesbraces_project

< 2.3.1

range

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

A vulnerability was found in Braces versions prior to 2.3.1. Affected ve…

snyk.ioNVDApr 2021

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for braces, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update braces to 2.3.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2018-1109 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Cap what an attacker can consume: apply request size, rate and timeout limits in front of the affected component, and run it with memory and CPU limits so exhaustion degrades one worker rather than the whole service.

Fixing This On Your OS

If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.

Red HatLow

Red Hat Quay includes braces as a dependency of webpack. Braces is only used at build time, not at runtime, reducing the impact of this vulnerability to low.

Product	Fixed in	Advisory
Red Hat Quay 3	`quay/quay-rhel8:v3.6.0-62`	RHSA-2021:3917

Frequently Asked Questions

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

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