# CVE-2022-37260: steal Regular Expression Denial of Service via input variable

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2022-37260-steal-regular-expression-denial-of-service-via-input-variable  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2022-09-16. Updated: 2026-09-25  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2022-37260 · Severity: low · CVSS 3.1 · Published 2022-09-16

steal is a module loader library used to bundle and manage JavaScript dependencies. A flaw in its input parsing allows an attacker to craft malicious input that causes the regular expression engine to consume excessive CPU resources, resulting in service unavailability or application crashes.

Technologies: [steal (npm)](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/steal). Vendors: [npm](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/npm).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2022-37260 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2022-37260 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2022-37260?** Low severity, with a CVSS score of 3.1, published 16 September 2022.

**Which products and versions are affected?** steal (npm) SEMVER:introduced=0,last_affected=2.3.0.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2022-37260?** No fixed version is recorded yet. Check the vendor's advisory in the references below. If you run it, Junglewise drafts a mitigation that fits your setup and applies it once you approve, with senior security engineers behind it.

**How is CVE-2022-37260 attacked?** It is attacked over the network, in a software library.

**Am I affected by CVE-2022-37260?** Check whether you run steal (npm) at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## Technical details

A Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) vulnerability exists in the main.js file of steal, specifically in the input variable parsing logic. The vulnerable regex lacks proper anchoring or atomic grouping, allowing catastrophic backtracking when processing specially crafted input. The vulnerability is network-reachable with no authentication required, as the input parsing occurs during module load processing. An attacker can trigger CPU exhaustion by providing a malicious input string, causing denial of service. The vulnerability affects steal versions up to 2.3.0.

## Affected products

- stealjs steal up to 2.3.0

## Identifiers

- CVE-2022-37260
- GHSA-7f3x-2wcx-hww8

## Timeline

- 2022-09-15: disclosed: CVE-2022-37260 published
- 2022-09-16: advisory: GHSA-7f3x-2wcx-hww8 published

## References

- [https://github.com/stealjs/steal/issues/1529](https://github.com/stealjs/steal/issues/1529)

## Related threats

- [steal inefficient regular expression complexity in babel](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2022-37259-steal-inefficient-regular-expression-complexity-in-babel)
- [steal prototype pollution via alias variable](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2022-37265-steal-prototype-pollution-via-alias-variable)
- [steal prototype pollution in npm-convert.js](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2022-37258-steal-prototype-pollution-in-npm-convert-js)
- [StealJS prototype pollution via babel.js](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2022-37266-stealjs-prototype-pollution-via-babel-js)
- [steal prototype pollution via requestedVersion](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2022-37257-steal-prototype-pollution-via-requestedversion)