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GMS-2020-742: Forgeable Public/Private Tokens in jws

September 1, 2020 (updated September 23, 2021)

Affected versions of the jws package allow users to select what algorithm the server will use to verify a provided JWT. A malicious actor can use this behaviour to arbitrarily modify the contents of a JWT while still passing verification. For the common use case of the JWT as a bearer token, the end result is a complete authentication bypass with minimal effort.

Recommendation

Update to version 3.0.0 or later.

References

  • auth0.com/blog/2015/03/31/critical-vulnerabilities-in-json-web-token-libraries/
  • github.com/advisories/GHSA-gjcw-v447-2w7q
  • github.com/brianloveswords/node-jws/commit/585d0e1e97b6747c10cf5b7689ccc5618a89b299
  • nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-1000223
  • snyk.io/vuln/npm:jws:20160726
  • www.npmjs.com/advisories/88

Code Behaviors & Features

Detect and mitigate GMS-2020-742 with GitLab Dependency Scanning

Secure your software supply chain by verifying that all open source dependencies used in your projects contain no disclosed vulnerabilities. Dependency Scanning using SBOM also detects vulnerabilities from proprietary advisories that this site does not include. Learn more about Dependency Scanning using SBOM →

Affected versions

All versions before 3.0.0

Fixed versions

  • 3.0.0

Solution

Upgrade to version 3.0.0 or above.

Source file

npm/jws/GMS-2020-742.yml

Spotted a mistake? Edit the file on GitLab.

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