CVE-2017-20165 | debug-js debug node.js useColors redos

A vulnerability classified as problematic has been found in debug-js debug up to 3.0.x. This affects the function useColors of the file src/node.js. The manipulation of the argument str leads to inefficient regular expression complexity. Upgrading to version 3.1.0 is able to address this issue. The identifier of the patch is c38a0166c266a679c8de012d4eaccec3f944e685. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component. The identifier VDB-217665 was assigned to this vulnerability.

Published: 2023-01-09 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2017-20165 is rated Moderate Risk (41.9/100): CVSS Low severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 2.03%). Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2017-20165

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 1.58% 2.03% +0.45%
2 2026-03-09 2.14% 1.58% -0.56%
3 2026-01-27 — 2.14% —

Full EPSS history (25 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2017-20165

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
3.5 3.1 LOW
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:A)
Attacker has to be nearby on the network—same office, same link, that vibe—not the whole wide internet.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:L)
Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.
 2.1 1.4 [email protected]
7.5 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 3.9 3.6 [email protected]
2.7 2.0 LOW
AV:A/AC:L/Au:S/C:N/I:N/A:P Click to expand
Access vector (AV:A)
Requires access to an adjacent network segment.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:S)
A single authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:N)
No confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:N)
No integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
 5.1 2.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2017-20165

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2017-20165

GHSA-9vvw-cc9w-f27h · Severity: high · Ecosystem: npm — debug Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity vulnerability

OS Trackers for CVE-2017-20165

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2017-20165 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (node-debug), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2017-20165
ubuntu medium CVE-2017-20165 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (node-debug), 13 status rows across 13 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, kinetic, lunar, mantic, noble, oracular, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): not-affected 9, needs-triage 2, ignored 1, released 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2017-20165

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2017-20165

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
debug_project debug < 2.6.9 cpe:2.3:a:debug_project:debug:*:*:*:*:*:node.js:*:*
debug_project debug >= 3.0.0, < 3.1.0 cpe:2.3:a:debug_project:debug:*:*:*:*:*:node.js:*:*

References for CVE-2017-20165

cvelogic Threat Intelligence