CVE-2017-16129: High severity superagent vulnerability

Published Jun 7, 2018
·
Updated

Affected versions of superagent do not check the post-decompression size of ZIP compressed HTTP responses prior to decompressing. This results in the package being vulnerable to a ZIP bomb attack, where an extremely small ZIP file becomes many orders of magnitude larger when decompressed.

This may result in unrestrained CPU/Memory/Disk consumption, causing a denial of service condition.

Recommendation

Update to version 3.7.0 or later.

Other sources

Node.js superagent module is vulnerable to a denial of service, caused by a ZIP bomb attack. By sending a specially crafted response, a remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability to consume all available CPU resources.

IBM

The HTTP client module superagent is vulnerable to ZIP bomb attacks. In a ZIP bomb attack, the HTTP server replies with a compressed response that becomes several magnitudes larger once uncompressed. If a client does not take special care when processing such responses, it may result in excessive CPU and/or memory consumption. An attacker might exploit such a weakness for a DoS attack. To exploit this the attacker must control the location (URL) that superagent makes a request to.

Affected Software

2 affected componentsFixes available
npm/superagent<3.7.0
3.7.0
Superagent Project Superagent Node.js<3.7.0

Event History

Jun 7, 2018
CVE Published
via MITRE·02:00 AM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·02:00 AM
DescriptionWeakness
Aug 9, 2018
Advisory Published
08:13 PM
Jun 1, 2020
Data Sourced
via IBM·12:00 AM
DescriptionSeverityAffected Software

Parent advisories

This vulnerability appears in the following advisories.

Free Weekly Intel

Don't miss critical vulnerabilities

Join thousands of security professionals who receive our weekly digest of trending CVEs, zero-days, and exploited vulnerabilities.

No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the vulnerability ID of this security issue?

The vulnerability ID of this security issue is CVE-2017-16129.

2

What is the severity of CVE-2017-16129?

The severity of CVE-2017-16129 is high (5.9).

3

How does the ZIP bomb attack affect the vulnerable software?

The ZIP bomb attack affects the vulnerable software by exploiting a lack of post-decompression size checking of ZIP compressed HTTP responses. This allows an extremely small ZIP file to become many orders of magnitude larger when decompressed, leading to a denial of service (DoS) condition.

4

Which versions of the superagent module are affected by CVE-2017-16129?

Versions up to but excluding 3.7.0 of the superagent module are affected by CVE-2017-16129.

5

How can I fix CVE-2017-16129?

To fix CVE-2017-16129, update the superagent module to version 3.7.0 or higher.

Contact

SecAlerts Pty Ltd.
132 Wickham Terrace
Fortitude Valley,
QLD 4006, Australia
info@secalerts.co
By using SecAlerts services, you agree to our services end-user license agreement. This website is safeguarded by reCAPTCHA and governed by the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. All names, logos, and brands of products are owned by their respective owners, and any usage of these names, logos, and brands for identification purposes only does not imply endorsement. If you possess any content that requires removal, please get in touch with us.
© 2026 SecAlerts Pty Ltd.
ABN: 70 645 966 203, ACN: 645 966 203