CVE-2020-1920 : What You Need to Know

A regular expression denial of service (ReDoS) vulnerability in react-native versions 0.59.0 to 0.64.1 can lead to excessive resource usage, unresponsiveness, or crashes. Facebook addressed this issue in version 0.64.1.

Understanding CVE-2020-1920

This CVE involves a ReDoS vulnerability in react-native.

What is CVE-2020-1920?

The vulnerability in the validateBaseUrl function of react-native triggers excessive resource consumption, risking application unresponsiveness or crashes.

The Impact of CVE-2020-1920

The vulnerability can be exploited to disrupt service availability or execute a denial of service attack on applications utilizing the affected react-native versions.

Technical Details of CVE-2020-1920

This section delves into the specific technical aspects of the vulnerability.

Vulnerability Description

A ReDoS issue in react-native versions 0.59.0 to 0.64.1 can be abused to overwhelm the application with resource demands, potentially resulting in denial of service.

Affected Systems and Versions

Product: react-native
Vendor: Facebook
Affected Versions: 0.59.0 (custom), 0.64.1 (custom)

Exploitation Mechanism

The vulnerability can be exploited by sending specially crafted input which triggers the inefficient regex complexity leading to resource exhaustion.

Mitigation and Prevention

Steps to address and prevent exploitation of CVE-2020-1920.

Immediate Steps to Take

Update react-native to version 0.64.1 or newer to mitigate the vulnerability.
Monitor system behavior for signs of excessive resource utilization.

Long-Term Security Practices

Regularly update software to incorporate security patches.
Implement input validation to prevent malicious inputs.

Patching and Updates

Apply patches provided by Facebook for react-native promptly to stay protected against potential ReDoS attacks.