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probe-image-size: Quadratic-time Denial of Service in the SVG Parser

Type: advisorySource: OSV1 source record

## Overview `probe-image-size` scans the SVG header with a searching regular expression, `/<[-_.:a-zA-Z0-9][^>]*>/`. On input that contains many `<` characters but no `>`, the engine restarts the `[^>]*` scan at every `<` position and runs to end of input each time, giving quadratic time complexity. Both the synchronous and the streaming parser are affected. ## Impact Every entry point that reaches the SVG parser is affected: `probe.sync()`, `probe(stream)` and `probe(url)`. The URL form is the most exposed one — the input is fetched from a remote host, so an attacker only needs to supply a link. Processing a crafted buffer blocks the Node.js event loop at 100% CPU for the whole duration. In production environments such as upload validators, image proxies or link unfurl services, a small number of concurrent requests is enough to deny service. ## Root Cause Analysis Two independent problems. 1. **Absence of input size cap in the sync path.** `lib/parse_sync/svg.js` copied the entire buffer into a string and matched against it. There was no size limit at all, so cost scaled with the size of the attacker-supplied buffer. 2. **Repeated rescanning in the stream path.** `lib/parse_stream/svg.js` did cap accumulated data at 64 KB, but called `parseSvg(str)` on the whole accumulated string on *every* chunk, giving `O(chunks × N²)`. The cap does not help here: the more chunks the input is split into, the more times the quadratic scan is repeated. Chunk size is influenced by the sende

Announced Source revision 1
Original source ↗

GHSA-gjj5-9665-rwrc

Primary source · Revision 1

Imported from structured advisory data. Source references identify upstream records or fields; verify affected versions and your deployed configuration.

Security context

Source reference: osv:GHSA-gjj5-9665-rwrc

probe-image-size

Source reference: /affected/0/package/name

Affected versions
Not stated in this record
Fixed versions
7.4.0

Source reference: /affected/0/ranges

Prerequisites
Not stated in this record

Structured affected-version data

Original package identities and version rules from this source.

[
  {
    "ranges": [
      {
        "type": "SEMVER",
        "events": [
          {
            "introduced": "0"
          },
          {
            "fixed": "7.4.0"
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "package": {
      "name": "probe-image-size",
      "purl": "pkg:npm/probe-image-size",
      "ecosystem": "npm"
    },
    "database_specific": {
      "source": "https://github.com/github/advisory-database/blob/main/advisories/github-reviewed/2026/10/GHSA-gjj5-9665-rwrc/GHSA-gjj5-9665-rwrc.json",
      "last_known_affected_version_range": "<= 7.3.0"
    }
  }
]
Related CVEs
CVE-2026-104861

Source reference: /aliases

Publisher severity

high

Source reference: /database_specific/severity

Linked CVE context

These ratings describe the referenced vulnerabilities and products. They are not a severity rating for every application using this dependency.

CVE-2026-104861 · High

probe-image-size

Event
#72766 · Revision 1
Added to Heist Feed
Publisher date
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