mediumCVSS 5.3Vulnerability

GHSA-r4xh-jqrq-34v2

### Summary `parse()` has a quadratic-time path in `parseKey`, reachable on default options with ordinary valid input. For every key line and table-header line, `parseKey` (dist/struct.js, lines 58 and 86) finds the dotted-key separator with `ctx.s.indexOf('.', ctx.p)`, where `ctx.s` is the whole document. When a key has no `.` ahead of it, that search runs all the way to the end of the input, and the result is then clamped back to the line terminator `endPtr` - so everything scanned past the current line is wasted. `parseKey` runs once per line, so a document of N dot-free keys costs O(n^2). The most ordinary TOML shape triggers it: a flat list of `key = value` lines, or a repeated `[[a]]` table. No dotted keys, no special options, valid input throughout. ### Proof of concept ```js import { parse } from 'smol-toml' let doc = '' for (let i = 0; i < 256000; i++) doc += 'k' + i + ' = 1\n' console.time('parse') parse(doc) // ~2.8 MB of valid TOML, default options console.timeEnd('parse') ``` Doubling the line count roughly quadruples the time: | lines | size | parse() | |---|---|---| | 32k | 0.3 MB | 0.3 s | | 64k | 0.7 MB | 1.0 s | | 128k | 1.4 MB | 3.5 s | | 256k | 2.8 MB | 14 s | ### Impact Any service that runs `parse()` on attacker-supplied TOML can be stalled. The work is synchronous, so it blocks the whole event loop, and the quadratic is unbounded: a ~7 MB body pins a core for about a minute, larger bodies for several. ### Patches Version 1.9.0 uses a different implementation for parsing keys which is strictly linear. ### Workarounds Limit the maximum document size accepted when parsing arbitrary documents.

Properties

severity
medium
summary
smol-toml: Quadratic-time parse() from parseKey rescanning to end of document on each key line
cvss_score
5.3
retrieved_at
2026-10-06T03:05:59+00:00
ghsa_published
2026-10-05T23:41:14Z
source_url
https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-r4xh-jqrq-34v2
ghsa_updated
2026-10-05T23:41:15Z
ghsa_id
GHSA-r4xh-jqrq-34v2
last_source
GitHub Advisory Database
cve_id
GHSA-r4xh-jqrq-34v2
cvss_vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
signal_observed_at
2026-10-06T02:58:31+00:00
is_ghsa_only
true

Related Entities (4)

REPORTED_BY (1)

→[Source]GitHub Advisory Database

VULNERABLE_TO (1)

←[Software]npm/smol-toml

AFFECTS (1)

→[Software]npm/smol-toml

HAS_WEAKNESS (1)

→[Weakness]Inefficient Algorithmic Complexity

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GHSA-r4xh-jqrq-34v2 (CVSS 5.3) — Ninja Signal Threat Intelligence | Ninja Signal