CVE-2026-40175
Prototype Pollution vulnerability in axios (npm)
What is CVE-2026-40175 About?
This vulnerability in the Axios library allows Prototype Pollution to be escalated into Remote Code Execution or Full Cloud Compromise (via AWS IMDSv2 bypass). It leverages a lack of HTTP Header Sanitization combined with default SSRF capabilities, making exploitation highly critical if another library introduces prototype pollution. Attackers can achieve significant control over the system or cloud environment.
Affected Software
Technical Details
The vulnerability is an 'Unrestricted Cloud Metadata Exfiltration via Header Injection Chain' leveraging prototype pollution. The Axios library, specifically lib/adapters/http.js, lacks proper sanitization of HTTP header values. If an Object.prototype property is polluted (e.g., Object.prototype['x-amz-target']), Axios's config merge process will inherit this polluted property into request headers. Because Axios does not validate these merged header values for CRLF (\r\n) characters, the polluted property becomes a Request Smuggling payload. This allows an attacker to inject arbitrary HTTP requests, such as a PUT request to AWS IMDSv2, masquerading via the x-amz-target header, to obtain session tokens and compromise the cloud account, or inject arbitrary headers into internal administrative panels.
What is the Impact of CVE-2026-40175?
Successful exploitation may allow attackers to execute arbitrary code, bypass security controls, gain unauthorized access to cloud resources, or achieve authentication bypass leading to full cloud compromise.
What is the Exploitability of CVE-2026-40175?
Exploitation of this vulnerability is highly complex, as it requires a multi-stage attack where an initial 'helper' vulnerability, such as prototype pollution in another library (e.g., qs, minimist, ini, body-parser), is present in the application's stack. No direct user input is required for the Axios component itself to act as the 'gadget'. The attacker needs to be able to trigger the initial prototype pollution. No specific authentication is required to trigger the Axios gadget once prototype pollution is achieved. This is a remote exploitation scenario. The primary constraints are the presence of a prototype pollution vulnerability and the application making an Axios request after pollution occurs. The risk is extremely high due to the critical impact (RCE/Cloud Compromise) and the ease with which prototype pollution can be introduced in modern JavaScript ecosystems, making this a severe threat.
What are the Known Public Exploits?
| PoC Author | Link | Commentary |
|---|---|---|
| No known exploits | ||
What are the Available Fixes for CVE-2026-40175?
Available Upgrade Options
- axios
- <1.15.0 → Upgrade to 1.15.0
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Book a demoAdditional Resources
- https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-fvcv-3m26-pcqx
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-40175
- https://github.com/axios/axios/pull/10660
- https://github.com/axios/axios/releases/tag/v1.15.0
- https://github.com/axios/axios/security/advisories/GHSA-fvcv-3m26-pcqx
- https://github.com/axios/axios/commit/363185461b90b1b78845dc8a99a1f103d9b122a1
- https://github.com/axios/axios/releases/tag/v1.15.0
- https://github.com/axios/axios/pull/10660
- https://github.com/axios/axios
- https://github.com/axios/axios/security/advisories/GHSA-fvcv-3m26-pcqx
What are Similar Vulnerabilities to CVE-2026-40175?
Similar Vulnerabilities: CVE-2022-22965 , CVE-2023-45803 , CVE-2023-34035 , CVE-2023-28432 , CVE-2023-38545
