CVE-2022-25881 is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.3) CWE-1333 vulnerability in org.webjars.npm:http-cache-semantics. 2 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for org.webjars.npm:http-cache-semantics — see the affected versions and patch details below.
http-cache-semantics vulnerable to Regular Expression Denial of Service
Exploitation Status
Proof-of-concept exploit code exists
- CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2022-25881.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2022-25881 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 394,803 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.
http-cache-semanticsnpmDescription
http-cache semantics contains an Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity , leading to Denial of Service. This affects versions of the package http-cache-semantics before 4.1.1. The issue can be exploited via malicious request header values sent to a server, when that server reads the cache policy from the request using this library.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.webjars.npm:http-cache-semantics | all versions | 4.1.1org.webjars.npm:http-cache-semantics:4.1.1 |
| 📦npm | http-cache-semantics | all versions | 4.1.1npm install http-cache-semantics@4.1.1 |
Affected Products
http-cache-semanticshttp-cache-semantics_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 org.webjars.npm:http-cache-semantics, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.webjars.npm:http-cache-semantics to 4.1.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-25881 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.
The impact of a succesfull exploiation of this vulnerability will only lead to a denial of service of the system,furthermore the exploitation will require an attacker to specifically craft a regular expression patterns in request headers (i.e. nontrivial input) that trigger pathological regex behavior but since most…
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | nodejs:16-8070020230314140722.bd1311ed | RHSA-2023:1582 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | nodejs:18-8070020230322080930.bd1311ed | RHSA-2023:1583 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | nodejs:14-8070020230306170042.bd1311ed | RHSA-2023:1743 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Extended Update Support | nodejs:14-8040020230306170312.522a0ee4 | RHSA-2023:1533 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Extended Update Support | nodejs:14-8060020230306170237.ad008a3a | RHSA-2023:1742 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | nodejs:18-9020020230327152102.rhel9 | RHSA-2023:2654 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | nodejs-1:16.19.1-1.el9_2 | RHSA-2023:2655 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.0 Extended Update Support | nodejs-1:16.20.2-1.el9_0 | RHSA-2023:5533 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2022-25881 in your dependencies?
Find it across Maven, npm, including transitive dependencies.