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CVE-2026-26996

HIGHCVSS 8.7/10EPSS 0.52%

Last modified

CVE-2026-26996 is a high-severity vulnerability rated 8.7/10 on the CVSS scale. minimatch is a minimal matching utility for converting glob expressions into JavaScript RegExp objects. Versions 10.2.0 and below are vulnerable to Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) when a glob pattern contains many consecutive * wildcards followed by a literal character that doesn't appear in the test string. EPSS estimates a 0.52% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Description

minimatch is a minimal matching utility for converting glob expressions into JavaScript RegExp objects. Versions 10.2.0 and below are vulnerable to Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) when a glob pattern contains many consecutive * wildcards followed by a literal character that doesn't appear in the test string. Each * compiles to a separate [^/]*? regex group, and when the match fails, V8's regex engine backtracks exponentially across all possible splits. The time complexity is O(4^N) where N is the number of * characters. With N=15, a single minimatch() call takes ~2 seconds. With N=34, it hangs effectively forever. Any application that passes user-controlled strings to minimatch() as the pattern argument is vulnerable to DoS. This issue has been fixed in version 10.2.1.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1
7.5/10

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS 4.0
8.7/10

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/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

EPSS Probability
0.52%

40.1th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

Affected Software

VendorProductVersions
Minimatch ProjectMinimatch>= 3.0.0, < 3.1.3
Minimatch ProjectMinimatch>= 4.0.0, < 4.2.4
Minimatch ProjectMinimatch>= 5.0.0, < 5.1.7
Minimatch ProjectMinimatch>= 6.0.0, < 6.2.1
Minimatch ProjectMinimatch>= 7.0.0, < 7.4.7
Minimatch ProjectMinimatch>= 8.0.0, < 8.0.5
Minimatch ProjectMinimatch>= 9.0.0, < 9.0.6
Minimatch ProjectMinimatch>= 10.0.0, < 10.2.1

References

Timeline

Published
Last Modified
Status
Analyzed

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-26996?
minimatch is a minimal matching utility for converting glob expressions into JavaScript RegExp objects. Versions 10.2.0 and below are vulnerable to Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) when a glob pattern contains many consecutive * wildcards followed by a literal character that doesn't appear in the test string. Each * compiles to a separate [^/]*? regex group, and when the match fails, V8's regex engine backtracks exponentially across all possible splits. The time complexity is O(4^N) where N is the number of * characters. With N=15, a single minimatch() call takes ~2 seconds. With N=34, it hangs effectively forever. Any application that passes user-controlled strings to minimatch() as the pattern argument is vulnerable to DoS. This issue has been fixed in version 10.2.1.
How severe is CVE-2026-26996?
CVE-2026-26996 has a CVSS score of 8.7/10 (HIGH severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.52% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How do I fix CVE-2026-26996?
Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.

Are you affected by CVE-2026-26996?

Run a free Strix scan to check your systems for this vulnerability.

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Source: NVD / NIST