CVE-2025-69873

ajv (Another JSON Schema Validator) before 8.18.0 is vulnerable to Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) when the $data option is enabled. The pattern keyword accepts runtime data via JSON Pointer syntax ($data reference), which is passed directly to the JavaScript RegExp() constructor without validation. An attacker can inject a malicious regex pattern (e.g., "^(a|a)*$") combined with crafted input to cause catastrophic backtracking. A 31-character payload causes approximately 44 seconds of CPU blocking, with each additional character doubling execution time. This enables complete denial of service with a single HTTP request against any API using ajv with $data: true for dynamic schema validation. This issue is also fixed in version 6.14.0.

  • Published Feb 11, 2026
  • CVSS 2.9 low
  • 0.5% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS)
  • A fix is available

Affected software

In the news

CVE-2025-69873 at the National Vulnerability Database