Prototype Pollution in Axios 1.0-1.15.1 (default transformResponse)
CVE-2026-42044 Published on April 24, 2026

Axios: Invisible JSON Response Tampering via Prototype Pollution Gadget in `parseReviver`
Axios is a promise based HTTP client for the browser and Node.js. From 1.0.0 to before 1.15.2, he 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 surgical, invisible modification of all JSON API responses including privilege escalation, balance manipulation, and authorization bypass. The default transformResponse function at lib/defaults/index.js:124 calls JSON.parse(data, this.parseReviver), where this is the merged config object. Because parseReviver is not present in Axios defaults, not validated by assertOptions, and not subject to any constraints, a polluted Object.prototype.parseReviver function is called for every key-value pair in every JSON response, allowing the attacker to selectively modify individual values while leaving the rest of the response intact. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.15.2.

NVD

Vulnerability Analysis

CVE-2026-42044 is exploitable with network access, and does not require authorization privileges or user interaction. This vulnerability is consided to have a high level of attack complexity. Public availability of a proof of concept (POC) exploit exists for CVE-2026-42044. The potential impact of an exploit of this vulnerability is considered to have a high impact on confidentiality and integrity, and no impact on availability.

Attack Vector:
NETWORK
Attack Complexity:
HIGH
Privileges Required:
NONE
User Interaction:
NONE
Scope:
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality Impact:
HIGH
Integrity Impact:
HIGH
Availability Impact:
NONE

Weakness Types

What is a Mass Assignment Vulnerability?

The software receives input from an upstream component that specifies multiple attributes, properties, or fields that are to be initialized or updated in an object, but it does not properly control which attributes can be modified.

CVE-2026-42044 has been classified to as a Mass Assignment vulnerability or weakness.

What is a Prototype Pollution Vulnerability?

The software receives input from an upstream component that specifies attributes that are to be initialized or updated in an object, but it does not properly control modifications of attributes of the object prototype.

CVE-2026-42044 has been classified to as a Prototype Pollution vulnerability or weakness.


Products Associated with CVE-2026-42044

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Affected Versions

axios: Red Hat HawtIO HawtIO 4.4.0: Red Hat Streams for Apache Kafka 2.9.4: Red Hat multicluster engine for Kubernetes 2.1: Red Hat multicluster engine for Kubernetes 2.11.0: Red Hat multicluster engine for Kubernetes 2.6: Red Hat multicluster engine for Kubernetes 2.8: Red Hat multicluster engine for Kubernetes 2.9: Red Hat Network Observability (NETOBSERV) 1.12.0: Red Hat Network Observability (NETOBSERV) 1.12.0: Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management for Kubernetes 2.14: Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management for Kubernetes 2.15: Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management for Kubernetes 2.16: Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security 4.9: Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security for Kubernetes 4.10: Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.15: Red Hat Developer Hub 1.8: Red Hat Developer Hub 1.9: Red Hat Discovery 2: Red Hat Migration Toolkit for Containers 1.8: Red Hat OpenShift Dev Spaces 3.28: Red Hat OpenShift Dev Spaces 3.28: Red Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 2.6: Red Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 2.6: Red Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 3.0: Red Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 3.0: Red Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 3.1: Red Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 3.1: Red Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 3.2: Red Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 3.2: Red Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 3.3: Red Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 3.3: Red Hat Quay 3.1: Red Hat Quay 3.12: Red Hat Quay 3.14: Red Hat Quay 3.15: Red Hat Quay 3.16: Red Hat Quay 3.17: Red Hat Quay 3.9: Red Hat Satellite 6.18: Red Hat Satellite 6.18: Red Hat Satellite 6.18: Red Hat Trusted Artifact Signer 1.3: Red Hat Cryostat 4: Red Hat Gatekeeper 3: Red Hat Migration Toolkit for Applications 8: Red Hat Migration Toolkit for Applications 8: Red Hat Network Observability Operator: Red Hat OpenShift Pipelines: Red Hat OpenShift Pipelines: Red Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 3: Red Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 3: Red Hat 3scale API Management Platform 2: Red Hat 3scale API Management Platform 2: Red Hat 3scale API Management Platform 2: Red Hat 3scale API Management Platform 2: Red Hat 3scale API Management Platform 2: Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2: Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2: Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2: Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2: Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2: Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2: Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2: Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2: Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2: Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2: Red Hat build of Apicurio Registry 2: Red Hat build of Apicurio Registry 3: Red Hat build of Apicurio Registry 3: Red Hat Build of Podman Desktop - Tech Preview: Red Hat Data Grid 8: Red Hat Developer Hub: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9: Red Hat Enterprise Linux AI (RHEL AI) 3: Red Hat Enterprise Linux AI (RHEL AI) 3: Red Hat Enterprise Linux AI (RHEL AI) 3: Red Hat Fuse 7: Red Hat Hardened Images: Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI): Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI): Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI): Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI): Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI): Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4: Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4: Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4: Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4: Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4: Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization 4: Red Hat Process Automation 7: Red Hat Trusted Profile Analyzer: Red Hat Self-service automation portal 2: Red Hat streams for Apache Kafka 3:

Exploit Probability

EPSS
0.25%
Percentile
15.92%

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) scores estimate the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. The percentile shows you how this score compares to all other vulnerabilities.