Description
i18next-http-middleware is a middleware to be used with Node.js web frameworks like express or Fastify and also for Deno. In versions prior to 3.9.7, the missingKeyHandler blocked the literal request-body keys __proto__, constructor, and prototype (added in 3.9.3, see GHSA-5fgg-jcpf-8jjw), but did not reject dotted variants such as "__proto__.polluted". Downstream backends that split the missing-key string on a configured keySeparator (notably i18next-fs-backend ≤ 2.6.5) hand these keys to an unguarded setPath() walker that writes to Object.prototype. Applications that expose missingKeyHandler to untrusted input AND use i18next-fs-backend ≤ 2.6.5 are directly exploitable for remote prototype pollution. Other downstream backends that split the missing-key string the same way may be similarly affected. Depending on the host application, polluted prototype properties may cause crashes, corrupted translation behaviour, configuration poisoning, or bypasses of property-based security checks. This issue has been fixed in version 3.9.7. If developers cannot upgrade immediately, they should do the following: do not expose missingKeyHandler to untrusted users (mount it behind authentication, or remove the route), add a request-body filter ahead of the handler that rejects any top-level key containing __proto__, constructor, or prototype after splitting on their configured keySeparator, and disable missing-key persistence (saveMissing: false) when accepting writes from untrusted input.
Published: 2026-06-15
Score: 9.1 Critical
EPSS: < 1% Very Low
KEV: No
Impact: n/a
Action: n/a
AI Analysis

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Remediation

No vendor fix or workaround currently provided.

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Tracking

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Advisories
Source ID Title
Github GHSA Github GHSA GHSA-f49m-vf83-692w i18next-http-middleware: MissingKeyHandler does not reject keys whose segments contain prototype-polluting names
History

Tue, 16 Jun 2026 15:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'yes', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}


Tue, 16 Jun 2026 14:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared I18next
I18next i18next-http-middleware
Vendors & Products I18next
I18next i18next-http-middleware

Mon, 15 Jun 2026 21:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description i18next-http-middleware is a middleware to be used with Node.js web frameworks like express or Fastify and also for Deno. In versions prior to 3.9.7, the missingKeyHandler blocked the literal request-body keys __proto__, constructor, and prototype (added in 3.9.3, see GHSA-5fgg-jcpf-8jjw), but did not reject dotted variants such as "__proto__.polluted". Downstream backends that split the missing-key string on a configured keySeparator (notably i18next-fs-backend ≤ 2.6.5) hand these keys to an unguarded setPath() walker that writes to Object.prototype. Applications that expose missingKeyHandler to untrusted input AND use i18next-fs-backend ≤ 2.6.5 are directly exploitable for remote prototype pollution. Other downstream backends that split the missing-key string the same way may be similarly affected. Depending on the host application, polluted prototype properties may cause crashes, corrupted translation behaviour, configuration poisoning, or bypasses of property-based security checks. This issue has been fixed in version 3.9.7. If developers cannot upgrade immediately, they should do the following: do not expose missingKeyHandler to untrusted users (mount it behind authentication, or remove the route), add a request-body filter ahead of the handler that rejects any top-level key containing __proto__, constructor, or prototype after splitting on their configured keySeparator, and disable missing-key persistence (saveMissing: false) when accepting writes from untrusted input.
Title i18next-http-middleware missingKeyHandler does not reject keys whose segments contain prototype-polluting names
Weaknesses CWE-1321
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 9.1, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H'}


Subscriptions

I18next I18next-http-middleware
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: GitHub_M

Published:

Updated: 2026-06-16T14:50:29.087Z

Reserved: 2026-05-22T18:47:27.755Z

Link: CVE-2026-48714

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-06-16T14:50:25.454Z

cve-icon NVD

Status : Awaiting Analysis

Published: 2026-06-15T22:16:17.550

Modified: 2026-06-16T15:46:06.380

Link: CVE-2026-48714

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-06-17T23:00:14Z

Weaknesses