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CVE-2023-36665 — Vulnerability in protobufjs — CVE Details

CRITICAL

protobufjs Prototype Pollution vulnerability

Published July 5, 2023Updated August 7, 2026Source: osv

Summary

protobuf.js (aka protobufjs) 6.10.0 until 6.11.4 and 7.0.0 until 7.2.4 allows Prototype Pollution, a different vulnerability than CVE-2022-25878. A user-controlled protobuf message can be used by an attacker to pollute the prototype of Object.prototype by adding and overwriting its data and functions. Exploitation can involve: (1) using the function parse to parse protobuf messages on the fly, (2) loading .proto files by using load/loadSync functions, or (3) providing untrusted input to the functions ReflectionObject.setParsedOption and util.setProperty. NOTE: this CVE Record is about `Object.constructor.prototype.<new-property> = ...;` whereas CVE-2022-25878 was about `Object.__proto__.<new-property> = ...;` instead.

Advisory Timeline

  • First published July 5, 2023 (1195 days ago).
  • Last revised August 7, 2026 — 1129 days after initial publication.

Remediation

Upgrade to the fixed version using your package manager.

npm
Update protobufjs to 7.2.5 or later
npm install protobufjs@7.2.5
npm
Update protobufjs to 6.11.4 or later
npm install protobufjs@6.11.4

After upgrading, run your dependency scanner again to confirm the vulnerability is resolved.

Affected Packages (2)

Affects 1 ecosystem: npm (1).

PackageEcosystemAffectedFixed In
protobufjs
npm
All versions7.2.5
protobufjs
npm
All versions6.11.4

Vulnerability Classification

Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) identifiers for this vulnerability type.

  • CWE-1321
    Prototype PollutionMITRE

CVSS Score Breakdown

What the CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) 9.8 score means for each attack dimension.

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-36665?
protobufjs Prototype Pollution vulnerability This vulnerability has been assigned a severity rating of CRITICAL (CVSS score: 9.8/10).
How do I check if my project is affected by CVE-2023-36665?
CVE-2023-36665 affects protobufjs. Use GeekWala's free vulnerability scanner to check your dependencies against CVE-2023-36665 and 200,000+ other known vulnerabilities.

Severity & Exploitability

CVSS Score
9.8

Exploitation is straightforward and causes maximum impact. Patch immediately.

Also Known As

GHSA-h755-8qp9-cq85

Related CVEs

More npm advisories

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