How severe is GHSA-xgh6-85xh-479p?

No CVSS score has been assigned to GHSA-xgh6-85xh-479p yet. Review the advisory details and affected package list to assess your exposure.

Which packages are affected by GHSA-xgh6-85xh-479p?

GHSA-xgh6-85xh-479p affects the following packages: npm-user-validate (npm). Ecosystems affected: npm.

How do I fix GHSA-xgh6-85xh-479p?

Update npm-user-validate to 1.0.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-xgh6-85xh-479p is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect GHSA-xgh6-85xh-479p in my npm dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for npm-user-validate, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate GHSA-xgh6-85xh-479p if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

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.

Is GHSA-xgh6-85xh-479p actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 2 known exploit references for GHSA-xgh6-85xh-479p, including 2 in-the-wild exploitations observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for GHSA-xgh6-85xh-479p?

GHSA-xgh6-85xh-479p has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 3.5%, placing it in the 89th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

When was GHSA-xgh6-85xh-479p published, and has it been updated?

GHSA-xgh6-85xh-479p was published on October 16, 2020 and was last updated on July 8, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

📦 npm

Not in CISA KEV

Regular Expression Denial of Service in npm-user-validateGHSA-xgh6-85xh-479p

GHSA-xgh6-85xh-479p is a security vulnerability in npm-user-validate. 2 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for npm-user-validate — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Also known asCVE-2020-7754 GHSA-pw54-mh39-w3hc

Published

Oct 16, 2020

Updated

Jul 8, 2026

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

2 known

Exploitation data as of Oct 10, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

3.5%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs89th percentile — riskier than 89% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected

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.

86other npm packages depend on this — each one inherits the vulnerability until it's patched upstream

npm-user-validatenpm

698Kdownloads / week

Description

npm-user-validate before version 1.0.1 is vulnerable to a Regular Expression Denial of Service (REDos). The regex that validates user emails took exponentially longer to process long input strings beginning with @ characters.

Impact

The issue affects the email function. If you use this function to process arbitrary user input with no character limit the application may be susceptible to Denial of Service.

Patches

The issue is patched in version 1.0.1 by improving the regular expression used and also enforcing a 254 character limit.

Workarounds

Restrict the character length to a reasonable degree before passing a value to .emal(); Also, consider doing a more rigorous sanitizing/validation beforehand.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
📦npm	`npm-user-validate`	all versions	1.0.1`npm install npm-user-validate@1.0.1`

Affected Products

1 product · 1 configurations

Application

npm-user-validatenpmjs

< 1.0.1

range

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

This affects the package npm-user-validate before 1.0.1. The regex that …

snyk.ioNVDOct 2020

This affects the package npm-user-validate before 1.0.1. The regex that …

snyk.ioNVDOct 2020

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for npm-user-validate, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update npm-user-validate to 1.0.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-xgh6-85xh-479p 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.

Red HatModerate

In Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 and Software Collections, `npm-user-validate` is used exclusively for `npm`. As a result, this vulnerability is considered Low in such a context. In OpenShift Container Platform (OCP) 3.11 and 4.4 the kibana package has been marked Low (similar to RHEL8) as it is primarily used for npm…

Product	Fixed in	Advisory
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8	`nodejs:10-8030020210118191659.229f0a1c`	RHSA-2021:0548
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8	`nodejs:12-8030020210129141730.229f0a1c`	RHSA-2021:0549
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8	`nodejs:14-8030020210126165503.229f0a1c`	RHSA-2021:0551
Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7	`rh-nodejs14-nodejs-0:14.15.4-2.el7`	RHSA-2021:0421
Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7	`rh-nodejs12-nodejs-0:12.20.1-1.el7`	RHSA-2021:0485
Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7	`rh-nodejs10-nodejs-0:10.23.1-2.el7`	RHSA-2021:0521

Frequently Asked Questions

`npm-user-validate` before version `1.0.1` is vulnerable to a Regular Expression Denial of Service (REDos). The regex that validates user emails took exponentially longer to process long input strings beginning with `@` characters. ### Impact The issue affects the `email` function. If you use this function to process arbitrary user input with no character limit the application may be susceptible to Denial of Service. ### Patches The issue is patched in version 1.0.1 by improving the regular expression used and also enforcing a 254 character limit. ### Workarounds Restrict the character leng

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

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