GHSA-j3q9-mxjg-w52f
HIGHGHSA-j3q9-mxjg-w52f is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) Uncontrolled Resource Consumption vulnerability in path-to-regexp. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-j3q9-mxjg-w52f is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
path-to-regexp vulnerable to Denial of Service via sequential optional groups
Blast Radius
Weekly download volume for affected packages — a proxy for how broadly this vulnerability is deployed.
path-to-regexpnpmDescription
Impact
A bad regular expression is generated any time you have multiple sequential optional groups (curly brace syntax), such as {a}{b}{c}:z. The generated regex grows exponentially with the number of groups, causing denial of service.
Patches
Fixed in version 8.4.0.
Workarounds
Limit the number of sequential optional groups in route patterns. Avoid passing user-controlled input as route patterns.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | path-to-regexp | ≥ 8.0.0&&< 8.4.0 | 8.4.0 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for path-to-regexp. 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.
Fix
Update path-to-regexp to 8.4.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-j3q9-mxjg-w52f 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 pinpoints whether GHSA-j3q9-mxjg-w52f 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 GHSA-j3q9-mxjg-w52f. 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-j3q9-mxjg-w52f in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-j3q9-mxjg-w52f across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.