CVE-2026-27904

Description

minimatch is a minimal matching utility for converting glob expressions into JavaScript RegExp objects. Prior to version 10.2.3, 9.0.7, 8.0.6, 7.4.8, 6.2.2, 5.1.8, 4.2.5, and 3.1.4, nested `*()` extglobs produce regexps with nested unbounded quantifiers (e.g. `(?:(?:a|b)*)*`), which exhibit catastrophic backtracking in V8. With a 12-byte pattern `*(*(*(a|b)))` and an 18-byte non-matching input, `minimatch()` stalls for over 7 seconds. Adding a single nesting level or a few input characters pushes this to minutes. This is the most severe finding: it is triggered by the default `minimatch()` API with no special options, and the minimum viable pattern is only 12 bytes. The same issue affects `+()` extglobs equally. Versions 10.2.3, 9.0.7, 8.0.6, 7.4.8, 6.2.2, 5.1.8, 4.2.5, and 3.1.4 fix the issue.

CVSS Metrics

• v3.1•HIGH•Score: 7.5CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

EPSS Trends

Current EPSS score: 0.47%• Percentile: 37%

Techniques & Countermeasures

• CWE-1333•Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity

  The product uses a regular expression with a worst-case computational complexity that is inefficient and possibly exponential.

Affected Systems

• isaacs•minimatch

  ≥ 10.0.0, < 10.2.3 | ≥ 9.0.0, < 9.0.7 | ≥ 8.0.0, < 8.0.6 | ≥ 7.0.0, < 7.4.8 | ≥ 6.0.0, < 6.2.2 | ≥ 5.0.0, < 5.1.8 | ≥ 4.0.0, < 4.2.5 | < 3.1.4

• minimatch_project•minimatch

  < 3.1.4 | ≥ 4.0.0, < 4.2.5 | ≥ 5.0.0, < 5.1.8 | ≥ 6.0.0, < 6.2.2 | ≥ 7.0.0, < 7.4.8 | ≥ 8.0.0, < 8.0.6 | ≥ 9.0.0, < 9.0.7 | ≥ 10.0.0, < 10.2.3

• Npm•minimatch

  ≥ 10.0.0, < 10.2.3 | ≥ 9.0.0, < 9.0.7 | ≥ 8.0.0, < 8.0.6 | ≥ 7.0.0, < 7.4.8 | ≥ 6.0.0, < 6.2.2 | ≥ 5.0.0, < 5.1.8 | ≥ 4.0.0, < 4.2.5 | < 3.1.4

References (4)

• https://github.com/isaacs/minimatch/security/advisories/GHSA-23c5-xmqv-rm74
• https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-27904
• https://github.com/isaacs/minimatch/commit/11d0df6165d15a955462316b26d52e5efae06fce
• https://github.com/isaacs/minimatch