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📦 npm

CVE-2026-33750

MEDIUM

brace-expansion: Zero-step sequence causes process hang and memory exhaustion

Also known asGHSA-f886-m6hf-6m8v
Published
Mar 27, 2026
Updated
Apr 10, 2026
Affected
4 pkgs
Patched
4 / 4
Exploits
None indexed

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗
0.4%probability of exploitation in next 30 days
Lower Risk34th percentile+0.41%
0.00%0.31%0.62%0.93%0.1%0.0%0.0%0.4%Apr 26Jun 26Jun 26

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.

Blast Radius

4 pkgs affected
📦brace-expansion📦brace-expansion📦brace-expansion📦brace-expansion

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 brace-expansion library generates arbitrary strings containing a common prefix and suffix. Prior to versions 5.0.5, 3.0.2, 2.0.3, and 1.1.13, a brace pattern with a zero step value (e.g., {1..2..0}) causes the sequence generation loop to run indefinitely, making the process hang for seconds and allocate heaps of memory. Versions 5.0.5, 3.0.2, 2.0.3, and 1.1.13 fix the issue. As a workaround, sanitize strings passed to expand() to ensure a step value of 0 is not used.

Affected Packages

4 total 4 fixed
EcosystemPackageVulnerable rangeFix
📦npmbrace-expansion4.0.0&&< 5.0.55.0.5
📦npmbrace-expansion3.0.0&&< 3.0.23.0.2
📦npmbrace-expansion2.0.0&&< 2.0.32.0.3
📦npmbrace-expansionall versions1.1.13

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency
  1. Detect

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

  2. Fix

    Update brace-expansion to 5.0.5 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-33750 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

  3. 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.

  4. How O3 protects you

    O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2026-33750 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-2026-33750. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Frequently Asked Questions

The brace-expansion library generates arbitrary strings containing a common prefix and suffix. Prior to versions 5.0.5, 3.0.2, 2.0.3, and 1.1.13, a brace pattern with a zero step value (e.g., `{1..2..0}`) causes the sequence generation loop to run indefinitely, making the process hang for seconds and allocate heaps of memory. Versions 5.0.5, 3.0.2, 2.0.3, and 1.1.13 fix the issue. As a workaround, sanitize strings passed to `expand()` to ensure a step value of `0` is not used.
O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2026-33750 in your dependencies?

O3 detects CVE-2026-33750 across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.