CVE-2026-118772 (GCVE-0-2026-118772)

Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2026-10-29 18:13 – Updated: 2026-10-29 18:13
VLAI
Title
joi: quadratic-time split in `string().email({ multiple: true })` allows denial of service
Summary
joi is a schema description language and data validator for JavaScript. From 17.1.1 until 17.13.9 and 18.3.1, the Joi.string().email({ multiple: true }) rule uses a separator regular expression whose leading whitespace quantifier is retried at every position in a long whitespace run that contains no separator, causing quadratic work during String.prototype.split. The behavior applies to the default separator and every custom separator. Applications that validate attacker-controlled values with the multiple option and no effective prior length limit can have the Node.js event loop blocked for seconds by one request, preventing other work. A .max() rule is not sufficient when abortEarly: false allows the email rule to run after the maximum-length check fails. This vulnerability is fixed in versions 17.13.9 and 18.3.1.
CWE
  • CWE-1333 - Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity
Assigner
GitHub_M CNA under the mitre root
CNA scorecard C 72/100 over 8116 records in the last 180 days details
Impacted products
Vendor Product Version CPE status
hapijs joi Affected: >= 16.0.0, <= 17.1.1
Affected: >= 18.0.0, < 18.3.1
guessed Create a notification for this product.
@hapi joi Affected: >= 16.0.0, <= 17.1.1
guessed Create a notification for this product.
Show details on NVD website

{
  "containers": {
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      "affected": [
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          "product": "joi",
          "vendor": "hapijs",
          "versions": [
            {
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "\u003e= 16.0.0, \u003c= 17.1.1"
            },
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              "status": "affected",
              "version": "\u003e= 18.0.0, \u003c 18.3.1"
            }
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          "value": "joi is a schema description language and data validator for JavaScript. From 17.1.1 until 17.13.9 and 18.3.1, the Joi.string().email({ multiple: true }) rule uses a separator regular expression whose leading whitespace quantifier is retried at every position in a long whitespace run that contains no separator, causing quadratic work during String.prototype.split. The behavior applies to the default separator and every custom separator. Applications that validate attacker-controlled values with the multiple option and no effective prior length limit can have the Node.js event loop blocked for seconds by one request, preventing other work. A .max() rule is not sufficient when abortEarly: false allows the email rule to run after the maximum-length check fails. This vulnerability is fixed in versions 17.13.9 and 18.3.1."
        }
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            "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
            "confidentialityImpact": "NONE",
            "integrityImpact": "NONE",
            "privilegesRequired": "NONE",
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            "userInteraction": "NONE",
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        "discovery": "UNKNOWN"
      },
      "title": "joi: quadratic-time split in `string().email({ multiple: true })` allows denial of service"
    }
  },
  "cveMetadata": {
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    "cveId": "CVE-2026-118772",
    "datePublished": "2026-10-29T18:13:33.771Z",
    "dateReserved": "2026-10-28T19:20:05.018Z",
    "dateUpdated": "2026-10-29T18:13:33.771Z",
    "state": "PUBLISHED"
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  "dataVersion": "5.2",
  "vulnerability-lookup:meta": {
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                    "version": "\u003e= 16.0.0, \u003c= 17.1.1"
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            "source": "security-advisories@github.com"
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        "cveTags": [],
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          {
            "lang": "en",
            "value": "joi is a schema description language and data validator for JavaScript. From 17.1.1 until 17.13.9 and 18.3.1, the Joi.string().email({ multiple: true }) rule uses a separator regular expression whose leading whitespace quantifier is retried at every position in a long whitespace run that contains no separator, causing quadratic work during String.prototype.split. The behavior applies to the default separator and every custom separator. Applications that validate attacker-controlled values with the multiple option and no effective prior length limit can have the Node.js event loop blocked for seconds by one request, preventing other work. A .max() rule is not sufficient when abortEarly: false allows the email rule to run after the maximum-length check fails. This vulnerability is fixed in versions 17.13.9 and 18.3.1."
          }
        ],
        "id": "CVE-2026-118772",
        "lastModified": "2026-10-30T19:37:07.073",
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      "cve": "CVE-2026-118772",
      "id": "CVE-2026-118772",
      "initial_release_date": "2026-10-29T18:13:33.771000+00:00",
      "product_status:known_affected": "40",
      "product_status:known_not_affected": "1",
      "source": "Red Hat CSAF VEX",
      "status": "final",
      "title": "joi: joi: Denial of Service via inefficient regular expression in email validation",
      "url": "https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-118772.json",
      "version": "3"
    }
  }
}



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