GitHub Advisoryadvisory · npm

GHSA-2g4f-4pwh-qvx6 ajv has ReDoS when using `$data` option

MEDIUM Published 2026-02-11 Modified 2026-03-02 Official page ↗
Aliases
CVE-2025-69873
Ecosystem
npm
Packages
ajv
Severity
Moderate
CVSS vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P
Weaknesses
CWE-1333, CWE-400
Reviewed
2026-02-17

Affected packages

• npm ajv: >= 7.0.0-alpha.0, < 8.18.0 → fixed in 8.18.0 • npm ajv: < 6.14.0 → fixed in 6.14.0

Description

ajv (Another JSON Schema Validator) through version 8.17.1 is vulnerable to Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) when the `$data` option is enabled. The pattern keyword accepts runtime data via JSON Pointer syntax (`$data` reference), which is passed directly to the JavaScript `RegExp()` constructor without validation. An attacker can inject a malicious regex pattern (e.g., `\"^(a|a)*$\"`) combined with crafted input to cause catastrophic backtracking. A 31-character payload causes approximately 44 seconds of CPU blocking, with each additional character doubling execution time. This enables complete denial of service with a single HTTP request against any API using ajv with `$data`: true for dynamic schema validation.

Related

Alias · CVE (1)

  • CVE-2025-69873 ajv (Another JSON Schema Validator) before 8.18.0 is vulnerable to Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) when the $data option is… vulnerability

Weakness · CWE (2)

  • CWE-1333 Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity weakness
  • CWE-400 Uncontrolled Resource Consumption weakness

References