Vulnerability in Isaacs Minimatch
CVE-2026-26996
minimatch is a minimal matching utility for converting glob expressions into JavaScript RegExp objects. Versions 10.2.0 and below are vulnerable to Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) when a glob pattern contains many consecutive * wildcards followed by a literal character that doesn't appear in the test string. Each * compiles to a separate [^/]*? regex group, and when the match fails, V8's regex engine backtracks exponentially across all possible splits. The time complexity is O(4^N) where N is the number of * characters. With N=15, a single minimatch() call takes ~2 seconds. With N=34, it hangs effectively forever. Any application that passes user-controlled strings to minimatch() as the pattern argument is vulnerable to DoS. This issue has been fixed in version 10.2.1.
Vulnerability class: ReDoS (Regular Expression Denial of Service)
EPSS: 0.005 (41.1th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 7.5 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
Affected products
- Isaacs Minimatch — versions < 10.2.1
- Minimatch_project Minimatch
Weakness classification (CWE)
References
- security-advisories@github.com (x_refsource_CONFIRM, Exploit, Vendor Advisory)
- security-advisories@github.com (Patch, x_refsource_MISC)
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2026-26996?
- CVE-2026-26996 is a high-severity vulnerability in Isaacs Minimatch, classified under Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity. CVSS score: 7.5/10. Published 2026-02-20.
- How severe is CVE-2026-26996?
- High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.5 out of 10.