# CVE-2026-14893: IBM Instana Observability is affected by multiple Prototype Pollution within Instana Agent container image

> Prototype pollution in the Instana Node.js tracer allows attackers to manipulate object prototypes, potentially leading to code execution or privilege escalation.

- **Severity:** High 7.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:L`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 28 Jul 2026
- **Updated:** 29 Jul 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-vhqp-r6hx-7vw5

## What is CVE-2026-14893?

CVE-2026-14893 is a high-severity vulnerability in IBM Observability with Instana (Agent), published on 28 Jul 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

IBM Observability with Instana (Agent) Build 1.0.303 through 1.0.320 IBM Instana Node.js tracer component @instana/core version 6.2.1 is vulnerable to prototype pollution through its configuration normalization API.

Weakness: CWE-1321 (Improperly Controlled Modification of Object Prototype Attributes)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-14893?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-14893?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-14893 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-14893 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-14893 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-14893 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-14893 is a high-severity vulnerability in IBM Observability with Instana (Agent), published on 28 Jul 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-14893 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: IBM Observability with Instana (Agent). No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-14893/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-14893/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-14893
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-14893
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-14893

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-14893/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.