CVE-2020-36830 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) CWE-1333 vulnerability in urlregex. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2020-36830 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
ReDoS in urlregex
Real-World Exposure
How broadly this vulnerability is actually deployed: weekly install volume shows current usage, a proxy for how much of the ecosystem is exposed.
urlregexnpmDescription
A vulnerability was found in nescalante urlregex up to 0.5.0 and classified as problematic. This issue affects some unknown processing of the file index.js of the component Backtracking. The manipulation leads to inefficient regular expression complexity. The attack may be initiated remotely. The exploit has been disclosed to the public and may be used. Upgrading to version 0.5.1 is able to address this issue. The identifier of the patch is e5a085afe6abfaea1d1a78f54c45af9ef43ca1f9. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | urlregex | all versions | 0.5.1 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for urlregex. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update urlregex to 0.5.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2020-36830 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2020-36830 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2020-36830. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2020-36830 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2020-36830 across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.