# CVE-2026-32621: Apollo Federation has prototype pollution via incomplete key sanitization > A malicious client or compromised subgraph can pollute Object.prototype in the Apollo Federation gateway, potentially leading to code execution or privilege escalation. - **Severity:** Critical 9.9 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:L`) - **Exploited in the wild:** Not known - **Login needed:** Any signed-in user - **Attackable:** Over the internet - **Victim action needed:** Not needed - **Fix available:** Yes - **Published:** 13 Mar 2026 - **Updated:** 16 Mar 2026 - **Also known as:** GHSA-pfjj-6f4p-rvmh, ROOT-APP-NPM-CVE-2026-32621 ## What is CVE-2026-32621? CVE-2026-32621 is a critical vulnerability in @apollo federation-internals, published on 13 Mar 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim. ### Official description Apollo Federation is an architecture for declaratively composing APIs into a unified graph. Prior to 2.9.6, 2.10.5, 2.11.6, 2.12.3, and 2.13.2, a vulnerability exists in query plan execution within the gateway that may allow pollution of Object.prototype in certain scenarios. A malicious client may be able to pollute Object.prototype in gateway directly by crafting operations with field aliases and/or variable names that target prototype-inheritable properties. Alternatively, if a subgraph were to be compromised by a malicious actor, they may be able to pollute Object.prototype in gateway by crafting JSON response payloads that target prototype-inheritable properties. This vulnerability is fixed in 2.9.6, 2.10.5, 2.11.6, 2.12.3, and 2.13.2. Weakness: CWE-1321 (Improperly Controlled Modification of Object Prototype Attributes) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-32621? 30 open source packages ship an affected version, including @apollo/federation-internals, @apollo/gateway and @apollo/query-planner. | Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | `@apollo/federation-internals` | npm | All versions | 2.9.6 | | `@apollo/federation-internals` | npm | All versions | 2.9.6 | | `@apollo/federation-internals` | npm | From 2.10.0 | 2.10.5 | | `@apollo/federation-internals` | npm | From 2.10.0 | 2.10.5 | | `@apollo/federation-internals` | npm | From 2.11.0 | 2.11.6 | | `@apollo/federation-internals` | npm | From 2.11.0 | 2.11.6 | | `@apollo/federation-internals` | npm | From 2.12.0 | 2.12.3 | | `@apollo/federation-internals` | npm | From 2.12.0 | 2.12.3 | | `@apollo/federation-internals` | npm | From 2.13.0 | 2.13.2 | | `@apollo/federation-internals` | npm | From 2.13.0 | 2.13.2 | | `@apollo/gateway` | npm | All versions | 2.9.6 | | `@apollo/gateway` | npm | All versions | 2.9.6 | | `@apollo/gateway` | npm | From 2.10.0 | 2.10.5 | | `@apollo/gateway` | npm | From 2.10.0 | 2.10.5 | | `@apollo/gateway` | npm | From 2.11.0 | 2.11.6 | | `@apollo/gateway` | npm | From 2.11.0 | 2.11.6 | | `@apollo/gateway` | npm | From 2.12.0 | 2.12.3 | | `@apollo/gateway` | npm | From 2.12.0 | 2.12.3 | | `@apollo/gateway` | npm | From 2.13.0 | 2.13.2 | | `@apollo/gateway` | npm | From 2.13.0 | 2.13.2 | | `@apollo/query-planner` | npm | All versions | 2.9.6 | | `@apollo/query-planner` | npm | All versions | 2.9.6 | | `@apollo/query-planner` | npm | From 2.10.0 | 2.10.5 | | `@apollo/query-planner` | npm | From 2.10.0 | 2.10.5 | | `@apollo/query-planner` | npm | From 2.11.0 | 2.11.6 | | `@apollo/query-planner` | npm | From 2.11.0 | 2.11.6 | | `@apollo/query-planner` | npm | From 2.12.0 | 2.12.3 | | `@apollo/query-planner` | npm | From 2.12.0 | 2.12.3 | | `@apollo/query-planner` | npm | From 2.13.0 | 2.13.2 | | `@apollo/query-planner` | npm | From 2.13.0 | 2.13.2 | ## How do I fix CVE-2026-32621? Upgrade @apollo/federation-internals to a fixed version for your release line: 2.9.6, 2.10.5, 2.11.6 or 2.12.3. ## Is CVE-2026-32621 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-32621 in the wild and no public exploit code. Public exploit code: - https://github.com/sam00/POC-CVE-2026-32621-Apollo-Federation-XSS-Vulnerability (github_poc): https://github.com/sam00/POC-CVE-2026-32621-Apollo-Federation-XSS-Vulnerability ## Fix prompt for AI coding agents ```text Check this codebase for CVE-2026-32621 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2026-32621 is a critical vulnerability in @apollo federation-internals, published on 13 Mar 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim. Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-32621 in the wild and no public exploit code. Affected packages and fixed versions: - @apollo/federation-internals (npm): affected all versions; fixed in 2.9.6 - @apollo/federation-internals (npm): affected all versions; fixed in 2.9.6 - @apollo/federation-internals (npm): affected from 2.10.0; fixed in 2.10.5 - @apollo/federation-internals (npm): affected from 2.10.0; fixed in 2.10.5 - @apollo/federation-internals (npm): affected from 2.11.0; fixed in 2.11.6 - @apollo/federation-internals (npm): affected from 2.11.0; fixed in 2.11.6 - @apollo/federation-internals (npm): affected from 2.12.0; fixed in 2.12.3 - @apollo/federation-internals (npm): affected from 2.12.0; fixed in 2.12.3 - @apollo/federation-internals (npm): affected from 2.13.0; fixed in 2.13.2 - @apollo/federation-internals (npm): affected from 2.13.0; fixed in 2.13.2 - @apollo/gateway (npm): affected all versions; fixed in 2.9.6 - @apollo/gateway (npm): affected all versions; fixed in 2.9.6 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-2026-32621/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-32621/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-32621 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-32621 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-32621 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-32621/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.