[Error] Unhandled "type" parameter errors

Description

$ curl http://localhost:1337/alanshaw/grunt-jsio?type=()
SyntaxError: Unexpected token < in JSON at position 0
   at JSON.parse (<anonymous>)
   at [My PATH]/david-www/node_modules/node-fetch/lib/body.js:48:15
   at process._tickCallback (internal/process/next_tick.js:103:7)

Contributor guide

Tech stack

javascriptnodejsrest api

Domain

backendapisecurity

Issue type

bug

DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.

2

Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.

1-3 hours

Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.

stale

ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.

clear

Prerequisites

Node.js basicsHTTP request handlingJSON parsing

Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.

75

Research direction

Investigate the route handler that processes the 'type' query parameter. Likely located in a route file such as 'routes/index.js' or 'app.js'. The current code passes the parameter to JSON.parse without validation, causing errors on malformed input. A fix should validate the parameter (e.g., ensure it is a string or number) before parsing, or use a try catch to handle parse errors gracefully. Refer to the error trace in the issue: the exception is thrown from node fetch's body parser, so the root cause is in how the 'type' parameter is used. Check for similar parameters that may need sanitization. No linked PRs or maintainer comments exist, so the issue is open for contribution.