SOC status:Duty analyst on shift

UK Cyber Defence
VulnerabilityAnalyzed

CVE-2025-2099

A vulnerability in the `preprocess_string()` function of the `transformers.testing_utils` module in huggingface/transformers version v4.48.3 allows for a Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) attack.

HIGH 7.5EPSS 0.58%

Does this matter?

High impact if exploited, but EPSS currently rates exploitation as unlikely (0.58%). Schedule it in the normal patch cycle and watch for a rise in EPSS or a public exploit.

Description

A vulnerability in the `preprocess_string()` function of the `transformers.testing_utils` module in huggingface/transformers version v4.48.3 allows for a Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) attack. The regular expression used to process code blocks in docstrings contains nested quantifiers, leading to exponential backtracking when processing input with a large number of newline characters. An attacker can exploit this by providing a specially crafted payload, causing high CPU usage and potential application downtime, effectively resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS) scenario.

CVSS 3.1
7.5 HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
EPSS
0.58% probability · 46th percentile
CISA KEV
Not listed
Weakness
CWE-1333
Affected
huggingface/transformers
Source
security@huntr.dev

Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA. Refreshed daily.