Axios: DoS & Header Injection via Prototype Pollution Read-Side Gadgets in axios merge functions
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-44490 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | GitHub_M |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-06-11 17:16:33 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-06-11 20:56:29 UTC |
| Description | Axios is a promise based HTTP client for the browser and Node.js. Prior to 0.32.0 and 1.16.0, axios exposes two read-side prototype-pollution gadgets. When Object.prototype is polluted by an upstream dependency in the same process (e.g. lodash _.merge / CVE-2018-16487), axios silently picks up the polluted values. (1) lib/utils.js line 406 builds merge()'s accumulator as result = {}, so result[targetKey] (line 414) walks Object.prototype and the polluted bucket's own keys are copied into the merged headers and ride out on the wire. (2) lib/core/mergeConfig.js line 26 builds the hasOwnProperty descriptor as a plain-object literal. Object.defineProperty reads descriptor.get/descriptor.set via the prototype chain, so a polluted Object.prototype.get or Object.prototype.set makes the call throw TypeError synchronously on every axios request. This vulnerability is fixed in 0.32.0 and 1.16.0. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v3.1 4.8 MEDIUM from [email protected]
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L
Problem Types: CWE-1321 | CWE-1321 CWE-1321: Improperly Controlled Modification of Object Prototype Attributes ('Prototype Pollution')
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | [email protected] | Secondary | 4.8 | MEDIUM | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L |
| 3.1 | CNA | DECLARED | 4.8 | MEDIUM | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L |
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
Attack Vector
NetworkAttack Complexity
HighPrivileges Required
NoneUser Interaction
NoneScope
UnchangedConfidentiality
NoneIntegrity
LowAvailability
LowCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L
Vendor Declared Affected Products
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| github.com/axios/axios/security/advisories/GHSA-898c-q2cr-xwhg | 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 | github.com | |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
No vendor comments have been submitted for this CVE.
There are currently no legacy QID mappings associated with this CVE.