CVE-2026-13311
shell-quote: Quadratic-complexity Denial of Service in `parse()` (CWE-407)
Description
shell-quote prior to 1.8.5 finalizes parsed tokens in parse() using Array.prototype.concat as a reduce accumulator, which reallocates and copies the entire growing array on every iteration. As a result parse() runs in O(n^2) time relative to the number of input tokens. An attacker who can supply an attacker-controlled string to any code path that calls parse() (no shell metacharacters are required; plain space-separated words suffice) can block the single-threaded Node.js event loop for an extended period with a small input, resulting in a denial of service. There is no code execution or data disclosure; impact is to availability only. Fixed in 1.8.5.
How to fix CVE-2026-13311
To remediate CVE-2026-13311, upgrade the affected package to a fixed version below.
- —upgrade to 1.9.0 or later
Is CVE-2026-13311 being exploited?
Low — EPSS is 0.4%, meaning exploitation activity has not been observed at scale.
Affected packages (1)
- from 0, < 1.9.0
CVSS scores
| Source | Version | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| osv | CVSS 4.0 | — | CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N |
| osv | CVSS 3.1 | HIGH7.5 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |