How severe is CVE-2021-23446?

CVE-2021-23446 has a CVSS score of 7.5/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2021-23446?

CVE-2021-23446 affects the following packages: handsontable (npm). Ecosystems affected: npm.

How do I fix CVE-2021-23446?

Update handsontable to 10.0.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-23446 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2021-23446 in my npm dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for handsontable. 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.

How do I mitigate CVE-2021-23446 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

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 does O3 Security protect against CVE-2021-23446?

O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2021-23446 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.

Is CVE-2021-23446 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 6 known exploit references for CVE-2021-23446, including 6 in-the-wild exploitations 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 type of vulnerability is CVE-2021-23446?

CVE-2021-23446 is classified as CWE-1333 (CWE-1333). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

When was CVE-2021-23446 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2021-23446 was published on September 29, 2021 and was last updated on July 9, 2026. 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

HIGH severity

CVE-2021-23446

HIGHFix: handsontable/handsontable#8742

CVE-2021-23446 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) CWE-1333 vulnerability in handsontable. 6 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2021-23446 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.

Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity in handsontable

Also known asGHSA-hf66-r44g-p7j9

Published

Sep 29, 2021

Updated

Jul 9, 2026

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

6 known

Exploitation data as of Jul 9, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected

📦handsontable

Real-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects npm packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.

Description

The package handsontable before 10.0.0; the package handsontable from 0 and before 10.0.0 are vulnerable to Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) in Handsontable.helper.isNumeric function.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
📦npm	`handsontable`	all versions	10.0.0

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.