Description
pbkdf2 through 3.1.6 re-hashes passwords longer than the digest's block size on every iteration in its JavaScript fallback (lib/sync.js). A password longer than the block size (64 bytes, or 128 bytes for sha384 and sha512) is passed to HMAC as the key on every iteration, and HMAC hashes such keys in full each time. Cost is therefore O(iterations × password length), and a long password can block the event loop. The fallback is used by pbkdf2Sync and pbkdf2 on Node.js before 0.12, on Bun (1.0.0 through 1.1.34, and 1.2.6 and later), and on Deno 2.9.0 and later, because their native pbkdf2Sync fails the library's feature check. It is also used when lib/sync.js is imported directly. Node.js 0.12 and later, and browser builds (which use lib/sync-browser.js), are not affected. Applications that enforce a reasonable maximum password length are not meaningfully affected.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| browserify | pbkdf2 | ≤ 3.1.6 | — |
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | node-pbkdf2 | 3.1.7+~3.1.2-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | node-pbkdf2 | No fix yet | — |
| Debian 12 | node-pbkdf2 | No fix yet | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 26.10 | node-pbkdf2 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | node-pbkdf2 | No fix yet | — |
Show 4 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Pro 24.04 LTS | node-pbkdf2 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 22.04 LTS | node-pbkdf2 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 20.04 LTS | node-pbkdf2 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 18.04 LTS | node-pbkdf2 | No fix yet | — |
Wolfi
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wolfi rolling | nextcloud-server-33 | 33.0.9-r6 | — |
Affected packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected | Fixed | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| npm | pbkdf2 | < 3.1.7 | 3.1.7 | GHSA-477h-4r7f-fvrx |