morgan vulnerable to Log Forging via unneutralized control characters in :remote-user
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-5078 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | openjs |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-06-03 08:16:19 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-06-03 08:16:19 UTC |
| Description | Impact: The morgan logging middleware's :remote-user token extracts the Basic auth username from the Authorization request header and writes it to the log stream without neutralizing control characters. An unauthenticated attacker can send a crafted Authorization Basic header containing CR or LF bytes to inject forged log lines, breaking the one-request-per-line structure of access logs and enabling log forgery against downstream log consumers. The built-in combined, common, default, and short formats are affected, as well as any custom format that references :remote-user. Affected versions: morgan 1.2.0 through 1.10.1. Patches: upgrade to morgan 1.11.0, which neutralizes control characters in the :remote-user token output. Workarounds: use a custom format string that does not include :remote-user. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v3.1 5.3 MEDIUM from ce714d77-add3-4f53-aff5-83d477b104bb
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
EPSS: 0.000310000 probability, percentile 0.091770000 (date 2026-06-03)
Problem Types: CWE-117 | CWE-117 CWE-117: Improper Output Neutralization for Logs
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | ce714d77-add3-4f53-aff5-83d477b104bb | Secondary | 5.3 | MEDIUM | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N |
| 3.1 | CNA | CVSS | 5.3 | MEDIUM | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N |
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
Attack Vector
NetworkAttack Complexity
LowPrivileges Required
NoneUser Interaction
NoneScope
UnchangedConfidentiality
NoneIntegrity
LowAvailability
NoneCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
Vendor Declared Affected Products
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| cna.openjsf.org/security-advisories.html | ce714d77-add3-4f53-aff5-83d477b104bb | cna.openjsf.org | |
| github.com/expressjs/morgan/security/advisories/GHSA-4vj7-5mj6-jm8m | ce714d77-add3-4f53-aff5-83d477b104bb | github.com | |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
Vendor Comments And Credit
Discovery Credit
CNA: Yuki Matsuhashi (en)
CNA: Ulises Gascón (en)
CNA: Jon Church (en)
There are currently no legacy QID mappings associated with this CVE.