CVE-2024-21538
CVE-2024-21538 is a high-severity vulnerability with a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.5. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-1333.
Key facts
- Severity: High (CVSS 3.x base score 7.5)
- CVSS v4: 7.7
- EPSS exploit prediction: 1% (55th percentile)
- Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
- EU (EUVD) id: EUVD-2024-3189
- Weakness: CWE-1333
- Published:
- Last modified:
Description
Versions of the package cross-spawn before 6.0.6, from 7.0.0 and before 7.0.5 are vulnerable to Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) due to improper input sanitization. An attacker can increase the CPU usage and crash the program by crafting a very large and well crafted string.
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2024-21538?
- Versions of the package cross-spawn before 6.0.6, from 7.0.0 and before 7.0.5 are vulnerable to Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) due to improper input sanitization. An attacker can increase the CPU usage and crash the program by crafting a very large and well crafted string.
- How severe is CVE-2024-21538?
- CVE-2024-21538 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.5, rated high severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.
- Is CVE-2024-21538 being actively exploited?
- It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (55th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
- How do I fix CVE-2024-21538?
- Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
- Does CVE-2024-21538 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?
- Yes. CVE-2024-21538 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2024-3189.
- When was CVE-2024-21538 published?
- CVE-2024-21538 was published on 2024-11-08 and last updated on 2026-06-17.
References
- https://github.com/moxystudio/node-cross-spawn/commit/5ff3a07d9add449021d806e45c4168203aa833ff
- https://github.com/moxystudio/node-cross-spawn/commit/640d391fde65388548601d95abedccc12943374f
- https://github.com/moxystudio/node-cross-spawn/pull/160
- https://security.snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-JAVA-ORGWEBJARSNPM-8366349
- https://security.snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-JS-CROSSSPAWN-8303230
Other CWE-1333 vulnerabilities
- CVE-2026-35458 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): Gotenberg is an API for converting document formats. In 8.29.1 and earlier, Gotenberg uses dlclark/regexp2 to compile…
- CVE-2023-29486 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): An issue was discovered in Heimdal Thor agent versions 3.4.2 and before 3.7.0 on Windows, allows attackers to bypass…
- CVE-2026-25547 — Critical (CVSS 9.2): @isaacs/brace-expansion is a hybrid CJS/ESM TypeScript fork of brace-expansion. Prior to version 5.0.1,…
- CVE-2023-29487 — Critical (CVSS 9.1): An issue was discovered in Heimdal Thor agent versions 3.4.2 and before on Windows and 2.6.9 and before on macOS,…
- CVE-2026-47138 — High (CVSS 8.7): Parse Server is an open source backend that can be deployed to any infrastructure that can run Node.js. Prior to…
- CVE-2025-6998 — High (CVSS 8.7): ReDoS in strip_whitespaces() function in cps/string_helper.py in Calibre Web and Autocaliweb allows unauthenticated…