CVE-2026-26996

HIGHCVSS 7.5/10EPSS 0.52%

Last modified

CVE-2026-26996 is a high-severity vulnerability rated 7.5/10 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

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 7.5/10 (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.

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Source: NVD / NIST