CVE-2016-1000232: ReDoS in tough-cookie
Summary
CVE-2016-1000232: ReDoS via long string of semicolons in tough-cookie. Affects tough-cookie versions < 2.3.0. Fixed in 2.3.0. How to fix ↓
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Background
The tough-cookie package is an npm module that provides a cookie jar implementation for managing HTTP cookies. It is commonly used in Node.js applications to handle cookie-related operations. The package allows users to parse, serialize, and manipulate cookies in accordance with the HTTP state management mechanism. However, certain versions of tough-cookie are vulnerable to a regular expression denial of service (ReDoS) attack when processing long strings of semicolons in the Set-Cookie header.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability in tough-cookie arises from a lack of proper input validation when handling the Set-Cookie header. An attacker can exploit this by sending a specially crafted HTTP response with a long string of semicolons in the Set-Cookie header. When the vulnerable version of tough-cookie attempts to parse this header, it triggers a regular expression pattern matching operation that is susceptible to ReDoS. This can lead to a denial of service condition, causing excessive CPU usage and potentially impacting the availability of the affected application. The severity of this vulnerability is rated as MODERATE with a CVSS score of 5.3.
How To Fix
Latest published version: 6.0.2 as of 22 Oct 2026
npm install tough-cookie@6.0.2Upgrading to it may include breaking changes; the version below is the minimum fixed release for this vulnerability.
If you need the minimum change
2.3.0
This is the first release that contains the fix.
npm install tough-cookie@2.3.0Tip — Not sure which version your app runs? Vulert can match this fix to it. Scan free →
Workaround
There is no known workaround for this vulnerability. It is essential to update to the patched version of tough-cookie to mitigate the risk.
Conclusion
The tough-cookie package is vulnerable to a ReDoS attack when processing long strings of semicolons in the Set-Cookie header. To mitigate this vulnerability, it is crucial to update to version 2.3.0 or later. For further assistance or support in addressing this vulnerability, please contact DevNack.com.
See every vulnerability recorded for tough-cookie →
FAQ
tough-cookie is an npm module that provides a cookie jar implementation for managing HTTP cookies in Node.js applications.
A ReDoS attack is a type of denial of service attack that exploits the exponential time complexity of certain regular expressions. By providing input that triggers excessive backtracking, an attacker can cause the regular expression matching process to consume significant computational resources, leading to a denial of service condition.
The vulnerability in tough-cookie can result in a denial of service condition, causing excessive CPU usage and potentially impacting the availability of the affected application.
To fix this vulnerability, update the tough-cookie package to version 2.3.0 or later.
No, there is no known workaround for this vulnerability. Updating to the patched version is the recommended solution.
References
Related vulnerabilities
Recent vulnerabilities recorded for tough-cookie.
