axios: Unintended Proxy or Intermediary
CVE-2026-44494 is a high-severity unintended proxy or intermediary vulnerability in axios, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.7 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. Affected axios versions: >= 1.0.0, < 1.16.0. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 1.06% chance of exploitation within 30 days, higher than 65% of scored CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Check which version of axios you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
- Read the advisory on github.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
- Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.
Affected products and versions
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE; 35 further products are omitted here. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
- Attack complexity
- HighSuccess depends on conditions outside the attacker's control.
- Privileges required
- NoneNo account or login is needed.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- ChangedThe attack can reach beyond the vulnerable component into other systems.
- Confidentiality
- HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
- Integrity
- HighData or code can be modified at will.
- Availability
- NoneAvailability is not affected.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N. Scored by CNA (github.com).
| Scoring system | Score | Severity | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | 8.7 | High | CNA (github.com) |
| CVSS 3.1 | 8.7 | High | CNA |
Official description
Axios is a promise based HTTP client for the browser and Node.js. From 1.0.0 to before 1.16.0, the 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 a full Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) attack — intercepting, reading, and modifying all HTTP traffic including authentication credentials. The HTTP adapter at lib/adapters/http.js:670 reads config.proxy via standard property access, which traverses the prototype chain. Because proxy is not present in Axios defaults, the merged config object has no own proxy property, making it trivially injectable via prototype pollution. Once injected, setProxy() routes all HTTP requests through the attacker's proxy server. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.16.0.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Unintended Proxy or Intermediary
The product receives a request, message, or directive from an upstream component, but the product does not sufficiently preserve the original source of the request before forwarding the request to an external actor that is outside of the product's control sphere.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Enforce the use of strong mutual authentication mechanism between the two parties.
- Whenever a product is an intermediary or proxy for transactions between two other components, the proxy core should not drop the identity of the initiator of the transaction. The immutability of the identity of the initiator must be maintained and should be forwarded all the way to the target.
More Unintended Proxy or Intermediary vulnerabilities (CWE-441)
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: poc, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Advisories
- github.com/axios/axios/security/advisories/GHSA-35jp-ww65-95whExploit, Mitigation
Other references
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:20889
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:20938
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:27044
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:28964
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:29082
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:29197
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:29800
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:29864
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:30650
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:30651
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:33005
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:33155
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:33160
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:33163
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:33173
Other vulnerabilities in axios
- 8.3 High severity
- 7.0 High severity
- 8.2 High severity
- 7.6 High severity
- 8.2 High severity
- 8.2 High severity
Recent Unintended Proxy or Intermediary vulnerabilities
- 7.7 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 8.3 High severity
- 10.0 Critical severity
- 9.9 Critical severity
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