CVE-2026-44490 Axios: DoS & Header Injection via Prototype Pollution Read-Side Gadgets in axios merge functions
Prototype pollution in upstream dependencies causes Axios to inject headers or crash requests, requiring an upgrade to fixed versions.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-44490?
CVE-2026-44490 is a medium-severity vulnerability in axios, published on 11 Jun 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
Axios is a promise based HTTP client for the browser and Node.js. Prior to 0.32.0 and 1.16.0, axios exposes two read-side prototype-pollution gadgets. When Object.prototype is polluted by an upstream dependency in the same process (e.g. lodash _.merge / CVE-2018-16487), axios silently picks up the polluted values. (1) lib/utils.js line 406 builds merge()'s accumulator as result = {}, so result[targetKey] (line 414) walks Object.prototype and the polluted bucket's own keys are copied into the merged headers and ride out on the wire. (2) lib/core/mergeConfig.js line 26 builds the hasOwnProperty descriptor as a plain-object literal. Object.defineProperty reads descriptor.get/descriptor.set via the prototype chain, so a polluted Object.prototype.get or Object.prototype.set makes the call throw TypeError synchronously on every axios request. This vulnerability is fixed in 0.32.0 and 1.16.0.
Weakness: CWE-1321
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-44490?
4 open source packages ship an affected version, including axios. It affects 1 product.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
axios npm | All versions | 0.32.0 |
axios npm | All versions | 0.32.0 |
axios npm | From 1.0.0 | 1.16.0 |
axios npm | From 1.0.0 | 1.16.0 |
Products include Axios Axios.
How do I fix CVE-2026-44490?
Upgrade axios to a fixed version for your release line: 0.32.0 or 1.16.0.
Is CVE-2026-44490 being exploited?
It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-44490 exists.
Other vulnerabilities in axios
- CVE-2026-44494 Axios: Full Man-in-the-Middle via Prototype Pollution Gadget in `config.proxy`
- CVE-2026-44492 axios's shouldBypassProxy does not recognize IPv4-mapped IPv6 addresses, allowing NO_PROXY bypass (incomplete fix for CVE-2025-62718)
- CVE-2026-67320 axios before 0.33.0 Prototype Pollution via Node HTTP adapter
- CVE-2026-44487 Axios: Proxy-Authorization Credential Leak to Origin Server Across HTTP-to-HTTPS Redirect in Axios Node.js HTTP Adapter
- CVE-2025-27152 Possible SSRF and Credential Leakage via Absolute URL in axios Requests
Sources
Also known as CLEANSTART-2026-LV37888, CLSA-2026-1785117467, CLSA-2026-1785204471, CLSA-2026-1785291207, CLSA-2026-1785291682, CLSA-2026-1785380880 and 32 more.