minimatch ReDoS: nested *() extglobs generate catastrophically backtracking regular expressions

Summary

minimatch is a minimal matching utility for converting glob expressions into JavaScript RegExp objects. Prior to version 10.2.3, 9.0.7, 8.0.6, 7.4.8, 6.2.2, 5.1.8, 4.2.5, and 3.1.4, nested `*()` extglobs produce regexps with nested unbounded quantifiers (e.g. `(?:(?:a|b)*)*`), which exhibit catastrophic backtracking in V8. With a 12-byte pattern `*(*(*(a|b)))` and an 18-byte non-matching input, `minimatch()` stalls for over 7 seconds. Adding a single nesting level or a few input characters pushes this to minutes. This is the most severe finding: it is triggered by the default `minimatch()` API with no special options, and the minimum viable pattern is only 12 bytes. The same issue affects `+()` extglobs equally. Versions 10.2.3, 9.0.7, 8.0.6, 7.4.8, 6.2.2, 5.1.8, 4.2.5, and 3.1.4 fix the issue.

Timeline

1. Feb 26, 2026, 1:07 AM UTCCVE published
2. Feb 26, 2026, 7:21 PM UTCCISA SSVC assessment

   Exploitation: poc · Automatable: no · Technical impact: partial

3. Feb 26, 2026, 7:21 PM UTCRecord last updated

Affected versions

• isaacs minimatch

  From 10.0.0 · fixed in 10.2.3; From 9.0.0 · fixed in 9.0.7; From 8.0.0 · fixed in 8.0.6; From 7.0.0 · fixed in 7.4.8; From 6.0.0 · fixed in 6.2.2; From 5.0.0 · fixed in 5.1.8; From 4.0.0 · fixed in 4.2.5; fixed in 3.1.4

• minimatchnpm

  From 10.0.0 · fixed in 10.2.3

• minimatchnpm

  From 9.0.0 · fixed in 9.0.7

• minimatchnpm

  From 8.0.0 · fixed in 8.0.6

• minimatchnpm

  From 7.0.0 · fixed in 7.4.8

• minimatchnpm

  From 6.0.0 · fixed in 6.2.2

• minimatchnpm

  From 5.0.0 · fixed in 5.1.8

• minimatchnpm

  From 4.0.0 · fixed in 4.2.5

• minimatchnpm

  fixed in 3.1.4

References 1