CVE-2026-101908 — Axios: Prototype pollution gadget in axios — CVE...

## Summary Axios fetch adapter requests can be altered by inherited properties on `fetchOptions`. The adapter resolves method, headers, body, signal, and credentials into `resolvedOptions`, creates a `Request`, and then calls `fetch(request, fetchOptions)` instead of `fetch(request, resolvedOptions)`. In runtimes such as Node's undici-backed fetch, inherited `fetchOptions.headers` can override the headers already placed on the `Request`. Axios does not create the prototype pollution source. This is a read-side gadget that becomes exploitable after same-process prototype pollution. ## Impact An attacker with a prior prototype-pollution primitive can cause affected fetch-adapter requests to send attacker-controlled headers and drop caller-specified headers. This can affect authorization, cache behavior, metadata-service interactions, or application-specific header-based controls. The issue is specific to fetch-adapter behavior and does not affect Node HTTP adapter requests. ## Affected Functionality Affected: - `adapter: 'fetch'`. - Runtime environments where the fetch adapter is selected. - Requests where `fetchOptions` is an object that does not have safe own values for sensitive fetch init fields. Not affected: - Node HTTP adapter. - Requests that do not use the fetch adapter. - Processes where `Object.prototype` is not polluted. ## Technical Details `lib/adapters/fetch.js` builds: ```js const resolvedOptions = { ...fetchOptions, signal: composedSignal, method: method.toUpperCase(), headers: toByteStringHeaderObject(headers.normalize()), body: data, duplex: 'half', credentials: isCredentialsSupported ? withCredentials : undefined, }; request = isRequestSupported && new Request(url, resolvedOptions); let response = await (isRequestSupported ? _fetch(request, fetchOptions) : _fetch(url, resolvedOptions)); ``` The fallback path without `Request` uses `resolvedOptions`, but the `Request` path passes the original `fetchOptions` as the second argument to `fetch()`. That second argument can contain inherited properties from `Object.prototype`. Local verification on axios `1.18.1` set `Object.prototype.headers = { Authorization: 'Bearer POLLUTED' }` and called the fetch adapter with `headers: { 'X-Good': 'yes' }, fetchOptions: {}`. The loopback server received `Authorization: Bearer POLLUTED` and did not receive `X-Good`. ## Proof of Concept of Attack Constrained local demonstration: ```js Object.prototype.headers = { Authorization: 'Bearer POLLUTED' }; try { await axios.get(url, { adapter: 'fetch', headers: { 'X-Good': 'yes' }, fetchOptions: {} }); } finally { delete Object.prototype.headers; } ``` Expected safe behavior is that the sanitized axios headers remain in force. Current behavior can use the inherited fetch init headers instead. ## Workarounds Use the Node HTTP adapter for security-sensitive server-side requests until fixed. If the fetch adapter must be used, avoid passing empty `fetchOptions` objects in processes where prototype pollution is possible, and set explicit safe own values for fetch init fields. <details> <summary><h3>Original report</h3></summary> Hello, I’m not completely sure if this is something you’d consider a security issue, since it depends on prototype pollution happening somewhere else first, but I wanted to report it just in case. I was testing the fetch adapter with polluted prototype values and found that `Object.prototype.headers` can change the request axios sends. The issue seems to be in `lib/adapters/fetch.js`. Axios creates a `Request` with the resolved headers/method/body, but then sends it with `fetch(request, fetchOptions)`. With undici, if `fetchOptions` doesn’t have its own headers, an inherited `Object.prototype.headers` value can be used during the final fetch call. I tested it with this: ```js import http from 'node:http'; import axios from 'axios'; const server = http.createServer((req, res) => { res.end(JSON.stringify({ authorization: req.headers.authorization || null, xGood: req.headers['x-good'] || null })); }); await new Promise(resolve => server.listen(0, '127.0.0.1', resolve)); const { port } = server.address(); Object.prototype.headers = { Authorization: 'Bearer POLLUTED' }; try { const res = await axios.get(`http://127.0.0.1:${port}/`, { adapter: 'fetch', headers: { 'X-Good': 'yes' }, fetchOptions: {} }); console.log(res.data); } finally { delete Object.prototype.headers; server.close(); } ``` The result I get is: ```json { "authorization": "Bearer POLLUTED", "xGood": null } ``` So the polluted Authorization header is sent, and the normal axios header is not. Changing the fetch call to pass the already resolved options fixes it for me: ```diff - _fetch(request, fetchOptions) + _fetch(request, resolvedOptions) ``` `resolvedOptions` already includes `...fetchOptions`, so custom fetch options should still work, while headers, method, body, and signal stay as clean own values. </details> ---