CVE-2021-23346 is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.3) vulnerability in html-parse-stringify. 3 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for html-parse-stringify — see the affected versions and patch details below.
html-parse-stringify and html-parse-stringify2 vulnerable to Regular expression denial of service (ReDoS)
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2021-23346 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 385,738 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.
Real-World Exposure
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.
html-parse-stringifynpmhtml-parse-stringify2npmDescription
This affects the package html-parse-stringify before 2.0.1; all versions of package html-parse-stringify2. Sending certain input could cause one of the regular expressions that is used for parsing to backtrack, freezing the process.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | html-parse-stringify | all versions | 2.0.1npm install html-parse-stringify@2.0.1 |
| 📦npm | html-parse-stringify2 | all versions | No fix |
Affected Products
html-parse-stringifyhtml-parse-stringify_projectResearch 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 html-parse-stringify, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update html-parse-stringify to 2.0.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-23346 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2021-23346 in your dependencies?
Find it across npm, including transitive dependencies.