GHSA-m28w-2pqf-7qgj
MEDIUMwebpack-dev-server vulnerable to denial of service via a malformed Host or Origin header
EPSS Exploitation Probability
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
Weekly download volume for affected packages — a proxy for how broadly this vulnerability is deployed.
webpack-dev-servernpmDescription
Impact
An unauthenticated peer that can reach the webpack-dev-server process can terminate it by sending either a normal HTTP request with a malformed Host header, or a WebSocket upgrade to the default /ws endpoint with a malformed Origin header. The malformed header triggers an uncaught exception in the host-validation path and crashes the dev server process.
Patches
Fixed in webpack-dev-server 5.2.6 by treating malformed Host and Origin header values as invalid rather than throwing (see PR #5699).
Workarounds
Keep the dev server bound to localhost (the default) and do not expose it to untrusted networks.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | webpack-dev-server | all versions | 5.2.6 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for webpack-dev-server. 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 webpack-dev-server to 5.2.6 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-m28w-2pqf-7qgj 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-m28w-2pqf-7qgj 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-m28w-2pqf-7qgj. 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-m28w-2pqf-7qgj in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-m28w-2pqf-7qgj across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.