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CVE Record

CVE-2019-20922: Handlebars before 4.4.5 allows Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) because of eager matching.

Handlebars before 4.4.5 allows Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) because of eager matching. The parser may be forced into an endless loop while processing crafted templates. This may allow attackers to exhaust system resources.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2019-20922 is a denial-of-service issue in Handlebars before 4.4.5. If an attacker can make an application process a crafted template, the parser may loop and consume system resources, potentially slowing or disrupting the service.

Executive priority

Prioritize remediation for internet-facing or multi-tenant systems where users can submit or influence templates. For systems using only trusted, static templates, urgency is lower but dependency cleanup is still appropriate.

Technical view

The issue is described as a Regular Expression Denial of Service caused by eager matching in the Handlebars parser. Sources state crafted templates can force parser looping during template processing. The bundle does not provide CVSS, CWE, affected CPEs, or detailed product scoping beyond Handlebars before 4.4.5.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely in Node.js or JavaScript applications that depend on handlebars versions earlier than 4.4.5 and compile or parse templates influenced by untrusted users, integrations, or stored content.

Exploitation context

The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation evidence. Practical risk depends on whether attackers can reach template parsing with controlled input. Impact is resource exhaustion, not documented code execution in this bundle.

Researcher notes

Evidence is limited but consistent: public records identify parser ReDoS in Handlebars before 4.4.5 and reference a fixing commit. No exploit maturity, CVSS vector, CWE, or CPE details are provided in the bundle, so reachability analysis is essential.

Mitigation direction

  • Inventory applications and build artifacts for handlebars versions earlier than 4.4.5.
  • Upgrade handlebars to 4.4.5 or later, following package-manager and vendor guidance.
  • Regenerate lockfiles and redeploy affected services after dependency updates.
  • Limit or review any feature that accepts user-controlled templates.
  • Monitor template-processing services for abnormal CPU or repeated timeout patterns.

Validation and detection

  • Check package.json, lockfiles, and SBOMs for handlebars below 4.4.5.
  • Confirm deployed artifacts use the remediated dependency version, not only source repositories.
  • Identify routes, jobs, or integrations that compile templates from external input.
  • Run dependency scanning after remediation and verify CVE-2019-20922 is cleared.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
5

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

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CVE-2019-20922 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

0CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
4Source links

CVSS and timeline data

No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
n/an/an/aListed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.