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CVE PROGRAM SOURCE RECORD8.7 High

CVE-2026-13311

shell-quote parse() is quadratic in token count, enabling denial of service

Description

shell-quote prior to 1.8.5 finalizes parsed tokens in parse() using Array.prototype.concat as a reduce accumulator, which reallocates and copies the entire growing array on every iteration. As a result parse() runs in O(n^2) time relative to the number of input tokens. An attacker who can supply an attacker-controlled string to any code path that calls parse() (no shell metacharacters are required; plain space-separated words suffice) can block the single-threaded Node.js event loop for an extended period with a small input, resulting in a denial of service. There is no code execution or data disclosure; impact is to availability only. Fixed in 1.8.5.

Affected products

Version statuses are supplied by the assigning organization. Consult the original record for detailed ranges and platform conditions.

ljharb shell-quote

Default version status: unaffected

  • 0 to ≤ 1.8.4affected

References