Versions of Express.js prior to 4.19.2 and pre-release alpha and beta versions before 5.0.0-beta.3 are affected by an open redirect vulnerability using malformed URLs.
When a user of Express performs a redirect using a user-provided URL Express performs an encode using encodeurl on the contents before passing it to the location header. This can cause malformed URLs to be evaluated in unexpected ways by common redirect allow list implementations in Express applications, leading to an Open Redirect via bypass of a properly implemented allow list.
The main method impacted is res.location() but this is also called from within res.redirect().
An initial fix went out with express@4.19.0, we then patched a feature regression in 4.19.1 and added improved handling for the bypass in 4.19.2.
Workarounds
The fix for this involves pre-parsing the url string with either require('node:url').parse or new URL. These are steps you can take on your own before passing the user input string to res.location or res.redirect.
This PR contains the following updates:
4.15.3->4.19.2GitHub Vulnerability Alerts
CVE-2024-29041
Impact
Versions of Express.js prior to 4.19.2 and pre-release alpha and beta versions before 5.0.0-beta.3 are affected by an open redirect vulnerability using malformed URLs.
When a user of Express performs a redirect using a user-provided URL Express performs an encode using
encodeurlon the contents before passing it to thelocationheader. This can cause malformed URLs to be evaluated in unexpected ways by common redirect allow list implementations in Express applications, leading to an Open Redirect via bypass of a properly implemented allow list.The main method impacted is
res.location()but this is also called from withinres.redirect().Patches
https://github.com/expressjs/express/commit/0867302ddbde0e9463d0564fea5861feb708c2dd https://github.com/expressjs/express/commit/0b746953c4bd8e377123527db11f9cd866e39f94
An initial fix went out with
express@4.19.0, we then patched a feature regression in4.19.1and added improved handling for the bypass in4.19.2.Workarounds
The fix for this involves pre-parsing the url string with either
require('node:url').parseornew URL. These are steps you can take on your own before passing the user input string tores.locationorres.redirect.References
https://github.com/expressjs/express/pull/5539 https://github.com/koajs/koa/issues/1800 https://expressjs.com/en/4x/api.html#res.location
Release Notes
expressjs/express (express)
### [`v4.19.2`](https://togithub.com/expressjs/express/blob/HEAD/History.md#4192--2024-03-25) [Compare Source](https://togithub.com/expressjs/express/compare/4.19.1...4.19.2) \========== - Improved fix for open redirect allow list bypass ### [`v4.19.1`](https://togithub.com/expressjs/express/blob/HEAD/History.md#4191--2024-03-20) [Compare Source](https://togithub.com/expressjs/express/compare/4.19.0...4.19.1) \========== - Allow passing non-strings to res.location with new encoding handling checks ### [`v4.19.0`](https://togithub.com/expressjs/express/compare/4.18.3...83e77aff6a3859d58206f3ff9501277023c03f87) [Compare Source](https://togithub.com/expressjs/express/compare/4.18.3...4.19.0) ### [`v4.18.3`](https://togithub.com/expressjs/express/blob/HEAD/History.md#4183--2024-02-26) [Compare Source](https://togithub.com/expressjs/express/compare/4.18.2...4.18.3) \========== - Fix routing requests without method - deps: body-parser@1.20.2 - Fix strict json error message on Node.js 19+ - deps: content-type@~1.0.5 - deps: raw-body@2.5.2 ### [`v4.18.2`](https://togithub.com/expressjs/express/blob/HEAD/History.md#4182--2022-10-08) [Compare Source](https://togithub.com/expressjs/express/compare/4.18.1...4.18.2) \=================== - Fix regression routing a large stack in a single route - deps: body-parser@1.20.1 - deps: qs@6.11.0 - perf: remove unnecessary object clone - deps: qs@6.11.0 ### [`v4.18.1`](https://togithub.com/expressjs/express/blob/HEAD/History.md#4181--2022-04-29) [Compare Source](https://togithub.com/expressjs/express/compare/4.18.0...4.18.1) \=================== - Fix hanging on large stack of sync routes ### [`v4.18.0`](https://togithub.com/expressjs/express/blob/HEAD/History.md#4180--2022-04-25) [Compare Source](https://togithub.com/expressjs/express/compare/4.17.3...4.18.0) \=================== - Add "root" option to `res.download` - Allow `options` without `filename` in `res.download` - Deprecate string and non-integer arguments to `res.status` - Fix behavior of `null`/`undefined` as `maxAge` in `res.cookie` - Fix handling very large stacks of sync middleware - Ignore `Object.prototype` values in settings through `app.set`/`app.get` - Invoke `default` with same arguments as types in `res.format` - Support proper 205 responses using `res.send` - Use `http-errors` for `res.format` error - deps: body-parser@1.20.0 - Fix error message for json parse whitespace in `strict` - Fix internal error when inflated body exceeds limit - Prevent loss of async hooks context - Prevent hanging when request already read - deps: depd@2.0.0 - deps: http-errors@2.0.0 - deps: on-finished@2.4.1 - deps: qs@6.10.3 - deps: raw-body@2.5.1 - deps: cookie@0.5.0 - Add `priority` option - Fix `expires` option to reject invalid dates - deps: depd@2.0.0 - Replace internal `eval` usage with `Function` constructor - Use instance methods on `process` to check for listeners - deps: finalhandler@1.2.0 - Remove set content headers that break response - deps: on-finished@2.4.1 - deps: statuses@2.0.1 - deps: on-finished@2.4.1 - Prevent loss of async hooks context - deps: qs@6.10.3 - deps: send@0.18.0 - Fix emitted 416 error missing headers property - Limit the headers removed for 304 response - deps: depd@2.0.0 - deps: destroy@1.2.0 - deps: http-errors@2.0.0 - deps: on-finished@2.4.1 - deps: statuses@2.0.1 - deps: serve-static@1.15.0 - deps: send@0.18.0 - deps: statuses@2.0.1 - Remove code 306 - Rename `425 Unordered Collection` to standard `425 Too Early` ### [`v4.17.3`](https://togithub.com/expressjs/express/blob/HEAD/History.md#4173--2022-02-16) [Compare Source](https://togithub.com/expressjs/express/compare/4.17.2...4.17.3) \=================== - deps: accepts@~1.3.8 - deps: mime-types@~2.1.34 - deps: negotiator@0.6.3 - deps: body-parser@1.19.2 - deps: bytes@3.1.2 - deps: qs@6.9.7 - deps: raw-body@2.4.3 - deps: cookie@0.4.2 - deps: qs@6.9.7 - Fix handling of `__proto__` keys - pref: remove unnecessary regexp for trust proxy ### [`v4.17.2`](https://togithub.com/expressjs/express/blob/HEAD/History.md#4172--2021-12-16) [Compare Source](https://togithub.com/expressjs/express/compare/4.17.1...4.17.2) \=================== - Fix handling of `undefined` in `res.jsonp` - Fix handling of `undefined` when `"json escape"` is enabled - Fix incorrect middleware execution with unanchored `RegExp`s - Fix `res.jsonp(obj, status)` deprecation message - Fix typo in `res.is` JSDoc - deps: body-parser@1.19.1 - deps: bytes@3.1.1 - deps: http-errors@1.8.1 - deps: qs@6.9.6 - deps: raw-body@2.4.2 - deps: safe-buffer@5.2.1 - deps: type-is@~1.6.18 - deps: content-disposition@0.5.4 - deps: safe-buffer@5.2.1 - deps: cookie@0.4.1 - Fix `maxAge` option to reject invalid values - deps: proxy-addr@~2.0.7 - Use `req.socket` over deprecated `req.connection` - deps: forwarded@0.2.0 - deps: ipaddr.js@1.9.1 - deps: qs@6.9.6 - deps: safe-buffer@5.2.1 - deps: send@0.17.2 - deps: http-errors@1.8.1 - deps: ms@2.1.3 - pref: ignore empty http tokens - deps: serve-static@1.14.2 - deps: send@0.17.2 - deps: setprototypeof@1.2.0 ### [`v4.17.1`](https://togithub.com/expressjs/express/blob/HEAD/History.md#4171--2019-05-25) [Compare Source](https://togithub.com/expressjs/express/compare/4.17.0...4.17.1) \=================== - Revert "Improve error message for `null`/`undefined` to `res.status`" ### [`v4.17.0`](https://togithub.com/expressjs/express/blob/HEAD/History.md#4170--2019-05-16) [Compare Source](https://togithub.com/expressjs/express/compare/4.16.4...4.17.0) \=================== - Add `express.raw` to parse bodies into `Buffer` - Add `express.text` to parse bodies into string - Improve error message for non-strings to `res.sendFile` - Improve error message for `null`/`undefined` to `res.status` - Support multiple hosts in `X-Forwarded-Host` - deps: accepts@~1.3.7 - deps: body-parser@1.19.0 - Add encoding MIK - Add petabyte (`pb`) support - Fix parsing array brackets after index - deps: bytes@3.1.0 - deps: http-errors@1.7.2 - deps: iconv-lite@0.4.24 - deps: qs@6.7.0 - deps: raw-body@2.4.0 - deps: type-is@~1.6.17 - deps: content-disposition@0.5.3 - deps: cookie@0.4.0 - Add `SameSite=None` support - deps: finalhandler@~1.1.2 - Set stricter `Content-Security-Policy` header - deps: parseurl@~1.3.3 - deps: statuses@~1.5.0 - deps: parseurl@~1.3.3 - deps: proxy-addr@~2.0.5 - deps: ipaddr.js@1.9.0 - deps: qs@6.7.0 - Fix parsing array brackets after index - deps: range-parser@~1.2.1 - deps: send@0.17.1 - Set stricter CSP header in redirect & error responses - deps: http-errors@~1.7.2 - deps: mime@1.6.0 - deps: ms@2.1.1 - deps: range-parser@~1.2.1 - deps: statuses@~1.5.0 - perf: remove redundant `path.normalize` call - deps: serve-static@1.14.1 - Set stricter CSP header in redirect response - deps: parseurl@~1.3.3 - deps: send@0.17.1 - deps: setprototypeof@1.1.1 - deps: statuses@~1.5.0 - Add `103 Early Hints` - deps: type-is@~1.6.18 - deps: mime-types@~2.1.24 - perf: prevent internal `throw` on invalid type ### [`v4.16.4`](https://togithub.com/expressjs/express/blob/HEAD/History.md#4164--2018-10-10) [Compare Source](https://togithub.com/expressjs/express/compare/4.16.3...4.16.4) \=================== - Fix issue where `"Request aborted"` may be logged in `res.sendfile` - Fix JSDoc for `Router` constructor - deps: body-parser@1.18.3 - Fix deprecation warnings on Node.js 10+ - Fix stack trace for strict json parse error - deps: depd@~1.1.2 - deps: http-errors@~1.6.3 - deps: iconv-lite@0.4.23 - deps: qs@6.5.2 - deps: raw-body@2.3.3 - deps: type-is@~1.6.16 - deps: proxy-addr@~2.0.4 - deps: ipaddr.js@1.8.0 - deps: qs@6.5.2 - deps: safe-buffer@5.1.2 ### [`v4.16.3`](https://togithub.com/expressjs/express/blob/HEAD/History.md#4163--2018-03-12) [Compare Source](https://togithub.com/expressjs/express/compare/4.16.2...4.16.3) \=================== - deps: accepts@~1.3.5 - deps: mime-types@~2.1.18 - deps: depd@~1.1.2 - perf: remove argument reassignment - deps: encodeurl@~1.0.2 - Fix encoding `%` as last character - deps: finalhandler@1.1.1 - Fix 404 output for bad / missing pathnames - deps: encodeurl@~1.0.2 - deps: statuses@~1.4.0 - deps: proxy-addr@~2.0.3 - deps: ipaddr.js@1.6.0 - deps: send@0.16.2 - Fix incorrect end tag in default error & redirects - deps: depd@~1.1.2 - deps: encodeurl@~1.0.2 - deps: statuses@~1.4.0 - deps: serve-static@1.13.2 - Fix incorrect end tag in redirects - deps: encodeurl@~1.0.2 - deps: send@0.16.2 - deps: statuses@~1.4.0 - deps: type-is@~1.6.16 - deps: mime-types@~2.1.18 ### [`v4.16.2`](https://togithub.com/expressjs/express/blob/HEAD/History.md#4162--2017-10-09) [Compare Source](https://togithub.com/expressjs/express/compare/4.16.1...4.16.2) \=================== - Fix `TypeError` in `res.send` when given `Buffer` and `ETag` header set - perf: skip parsing of entire `X-Forwarded-Proto` header ### [`v4.16.1`](https://togithub.com/expressjs/express/blob/HEAD/History.md#4161--2017-09-29) [Compare Source](https://togithub.com/expressjs/express/compare/4.16.0...4.16.1) \=================== - deps: send@0.16.1 - deps: serve-static@1.13.1 - Fix regression when `root` is incorrectly set to a file - deps: send@0.16.1 ### [`v4.16.0`](https://togithub.com/expressjs/express/blob/HEAD/History.md#4160--2017-09-28) [Compare Source](https://togithub.com/expressjs/express/compare/4.15.5...4.16.0) \=================== - Add `"json escape"` setting for `res.json` and `res.jsonp` - Add `express.json` and `express.urlencoded` to parse bodies - Add `options` argument to `res.download` - Improve error message when autoloading invalid view engine - Improve error messages when non-function provided as middleware - Skip `Buffer` encoding when not generating ETag for small response - Use `safe-buffer` for improved Buffer API - deps: accepts@~1.3.4 - deps: mime-types@~2.1.16 - deps: content-type@~1.0.4 - perf: remove argument reassignment - perf: skip parameter parsing when no parameters - deps: etag@~1.8.1 - perf: replace regular expression with substring - deps: finalhandler@1.1.0 - Use `res.headersSent` when available - deps: parseurl@~1.3.2 - perf: reduce overhead for full URLs - perf: unroll the "fast-path" `RegExp` - deps: proxy-addr@~2.0.2 - Fix trimming leading / trailing OWS in `X-Forwarded-For` - deps: forwarded@~0.1.2 - deps: ipaddr.js@1.5.2 - perf: reduce overhead when no `X-Forwarded-For` header - deps: qs@6.5.1 - Fix parsing & compacting very deep objects - deps: send@0.16.0 - Add 70 new types for file extensions - Add `immutable` option - Fix missing `