Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-39176 is a memory leak in the npm package detect-character-encoding. Applications using vulnerable versions can consume memory without releasing it, which can degrade or stop availability. The documented fix is version 0.3.1.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation for internet-facing or high-availability services using this package. The main business risk is denial of service from memory exhaustion, not data theft or integrity compromise based on the provided sources.
Technical view
detect-character-encoding v0.3.0 and earlier fail to release allocated memory, mapped to CWE-401. The CVSS 3.1 score is 7.5 because the stated impact is availability loss with network reachability and no required privileges or user interaction.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to applications or services that depend on sonicdoe detect-character-encoding versions earlier than 0.3.1, directly or transitively. Risk is higher in long-running services that process untrusted content for character encoding detection.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show active exploitation, and the CVE is not listed as KEV. The sources also do not provide exploit telemetry or detailed trigger conditions beyond the availability-focused CVSS assessment.
Researcher notes
Affected range and fixed version are clear. The source bundle does not document proof-of-concept details, active exploitation, or exact application-level trigger paths, so validation should focus on dependency presence and exposed processing paths.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade detect-character-encoding to version 0.3.1 or later.
- Rebuild and redeploy applications after dependency updates.
- Check lockfiles for transitive vulnerable versions below 0.3.1.
- Monitor memory usage in services that process untrusted text or files.
Validation and detection
- Search dependency manifests and lockfiles for detect-character-encoding versions below 0.3.1.
- Confirm deployed artifacts include the patched dependency version.
- Review SBOM or package inventory for transitive vulnerable usage.
- Check runtime monitoring for memory growth in affected services.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-401: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-39176 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 7.5 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
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.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H3.93.6Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.5HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://github.com/sonicdoe/detect-character-encoding/security/advisories/GHSA-5rwj-j5m3-3chjCVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://github.com/sonicdoe/detect-character-encoding/pull/6CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/sonicdoe/detect-character-encoding/commit/d44356927b92e3b13e178071bf6d7c671766f588CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/sonicdoe/detect-character-encoding/releases/tag/v0.3.1CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime
Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.