CVE-2021-23341
HIGHCVE-2021-23341 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) vulnerability in prismjs. 4 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2021-23341 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Denial of service in prismjs
Blast Radius
Weekly download volume for affected packages — a proxy for how broadly this vulnerability is deployed.
prismjsnpmDescription
The package prismjs before 1.23.0 are vulnerable to Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) via the prism-asciidoc, prism-rest, prism-tap and prism-eiffel components.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | prismjs | all versions | 1.23.0 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
The package prismjs before 1.23.0 are vulnerable to Regular Expression D…
The package prismjs before 1.23.0 are vulnerable to Regular Expression D…
The package prismjs before 1.23.0 are vulnerable to Regular Expression D…
The package prismjs before 1.23.0 are vulnerable to Regular Expression D…
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for prismjs. 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 prismjs to 1.23.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-23341 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-2021-23341 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-2021-23341. 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-2021-23341 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2021-23341 across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.