CVE-2021-23354
Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS)
The package printf before 0.6.1 are vulnerable to Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) via the regex string /%(?:(([\w_.]+))|([1-9]\d*)$)?([0 +-]*)(*|\d+)?(.)?(*|\d+)?[hlL]?([%bscdeEfFgGioOuxX])/g in lib/printf.js. The vulnerable regular expression has cubic worst-case time complexity.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- Low
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS)
The package printf before 0.6.1 are vulnerable to Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) via the regex string /%(?:(([\w_.]+))|([1-9]\d*)$)?([0 +-]*)(*|\d+)?(.)?(*|\d+)?[hlL]?([%bscdeEfFgGioOuxX])/g in lib/printf.js. The vulnerable regular expression has cubic worst-case time complexity.
- Record
CVE-2021-23354- CVSS 3.1
- 5.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L - Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2021-0725
The package printf before 0.6.1 are vulnerable to Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) via the regex string /%(?:(([\w_.]+))|([1-9]\d*)$)?([0 +-]*)(*|\d+)?(.)?(*|\d+)?[hlL]?([%bscdeEfFgGioOuxX])/g in lib/printf.js. The vulnerable regular expression has cubic worst-case time complexity.
- Record
EUVD-2021-0725- CVSS 3.1
- 5.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L - Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-xfhp-gmh8-r8v2
printf vulnerable to Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS)
The package printf before 0.6.1 are vulnerable to Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) via the regex string
/\%(?:\(([\w_.]+)\)|([1-9]\d*)\$)?([0 +\-\]*)(\*|\d+)?(\.)?(\*|\d+)?[hlL]?([\%bscdeEfFgGioOuxX])/g
in lib/printf.js. The vulnerable regular expression has cubic worst-case time complexity.
- Record
GHSA-xfhp-gmh8-r8v2- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-400
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
The package printf before 0.6.1 are vulnerable to Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) via the regex string /%(?:(([\w_.]+))|([1-9]\d*)$)?([0 +-]*)(*|\d+)?(.)?(*|\d+)?[hlL]?([%bscdeEfFgGioOuxX])/g in lib/printf.js. The vulnerable regular expression has cubic worst-case time complexity.
- Record
CVE-2021-23354- CVSS 3.1
- 5.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L - CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 5.0 Medium
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P - Weakness
- CWE-1333
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
The package printf before 0.6.1 are vulnerable to Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) via the regex string /%(?:(([\w_.]+))|([1-9]\d*)$)?([0 +-]*)(*|\d+)?(.)?(*|\d+)?[hlL]?([%bscdeEfFgGioOuxX])/g in lib/printf.js. The vulnerable regular expression has cubic worst-case time complexity.
- Record
CVE-2021-23354- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-xfhp-gmh8-r8v2
printf vulnerable to Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS)
The package printf before 0.6.1 are vulnerable to Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) via the regex string
/\%(?:\(([\w_.]+)\)|([1-9]\d*)\$)?([0 +\-\]*)(\*|\d+)?(\.)?(\*|\d+)?[hlL]?([\%bscdeEfFgGioOuxX])/g
in lib/printf.js. The vulnerable regular expression has cubic worst-case time complexity.
- Record
GHSA-xfhp-gmh8-r8v2- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-400
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVCLSA-2026-1772669616 No score
TuxCare security update for printf (1 CVE)
TuxCare rebuilt printf to address 1 CVE. Fixed in 0.2.5-tuxcare.1.
- Record
CLSA-2026-1772669616- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVCLSA-2026-1774311624 No score
TuxCare security update for printf (1 CVE)
TuxCare rebuilt printf to address 1 CVE. Fixed in 0.5.3-tuxcare.1.
- Record
CLSA-2026-1774311624- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases, published | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2021-23354 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 5.3) in Adaltas Printf, published March 12, 2021. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 2.18%, the 82nd percentile. Fixed in printf 0.6.1.