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GHSA-737v-mqg7-c878

HighCVSS 7.5 / 10
Published Apr 4, 2026·Last modified Apr 6, 2026
Affected Components(0)

No affected components available

Description

Impact

Applications that pass unsanitized user input (e.g. parsed JSON request bodies, database records, or config files from untrusted sources) as the first argument to defu() are vulnerable to prototype pollution.

A crafted payload containing a __proto__ key can override intended default values in the merged result:

import { defu } from 'defu'

const userInput = JSON.parse('{"__proto__":{"isAdmin":true}}')
const config = defu(userInput, { isAdmin: false })

config.isAdmin // true — attacker overrides the server default

Root Cause

The internal _defu function used Object.assign({}, defaults) to copy the defaults object. Object.assign invokes the __proto__ setter, which replaces the resulting object's [[Prototype]] with attacker-controlled values. Properties inherited from the polluted prototype then bypass the existing __proto__ key guard in the for...in loop and land in the final result.

Fix

Replace Object.assign({}, defaults) with object spread ({ ...defaults }), which uses [[DefineOwnProperty]] and does not invoke the __proto__ setter.

Affected Versions

<= 6.1.4

Credits

Reported by @BlackHatExploitation

Risk Scores
Base Score
7.5

The vulnerability can be exploited over the network without needing physical access. It is easy for an attacker to exploit this vulnerability. An attacker does not need any special privileges or access rights. No user interaction is needed for the attacker to exploit this vulnerability. The impact is confined to the system where the vulnerability exists. There is a high impact on the integrity of the data.

Threat Intelligence
6.9

Exploitation attempts have been detected. Elevated vigilance and prompt remediation are advised.

EPSS
0.40%

The exploit probability is very low. The vulnerability is unlikely to be exploited in the next 30 days.

Exploit
Not available

We did not find any exploit available. Neither in GitHub repositories nor in the Exploit-Database.

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