GHSA-fx83-v9x8-x52w
protobuf.js: Prototype injection in generated message constructors
At a glance
- Published
- Updated
- CVE
- CVE-2026-44292
- CVSS_V3
- CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
Description
## Summary protobufjs generated message constructors copied enumerable properties from a provided properties object without filtering the `__proto__` key. If an application constructed a message from an attacker-controlled plain object, an own enumerable `__proto__` property could alter the prototype of that individual message instance. ## Impact An attacker who can control the properties object passed to a generated protobufjs message constructor or creation helper may be able to modify the prototype chain of the resulting message instance. This is a per-instance prototype injection issue. It does not pollute `Object.prototype` or other global prototypes. The impact depends on downstream application behavior, such as relying on inherited properties, prototype methods, or `instanceof` checks for message objects. Applications that only decode binary protobuf data, or that construct messages from trusted application-defined objects, are not directly affected by this issue. ## Preconditions - The application must allow an attacker to control or influence a plain object used to construct a protobufjs message. - The object must contain an own enumerable `__proto__` property, for example from parsed JSON input. - The application must pass that object to a generated message constructor or creation helper that copies arbitrary enumerable properties. ## Workarounds Do not pass attacker-controlled plain objects directly to generated message constructors with affected versions. If untrusted JSON input must be accepted, validate or sanitize object keys before constructing messages, and reject `__proto__` properties.
Affected packages
| Package | Versions |
|---|---|
| npm · protobufjs | introduced 0, fixed 7.5.6 |
| npm · protobufjs | introduced 8.0.0, fixed 8.0.2 |
References
- https://github.com/protobufjs/protobuf.js/security/advisories/GHSA-fx83-v9x8-x52w WEB
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-44292 ADVISORY
- https://github.com/protobufjs/protobuf.js PACKAGE
- https://github.com/protobufjs/protobuf.js/releases/tag/protobufjs-v7.5.6 WEB
- https://github.com/protobufjs/protobuf.js/releases/tag/protobufjs-v8.0.2 WEB
Sources
| Source | Licence |
|---|---|
| OSV.dev | CC-BY 4.0 — GitHub Advisory Database |