CVE-2026-42041
Publication date 24 April 2026
Last updated 13 May 2026
Ubuntu priority
Description
Axios is a promise based HTTP client for the browser and Node.js. Prior to 1.15.1 and 0.31.1, the Axios library is vulnerable to a Prototype Pollution "Gadget" attack that allows any Object.prototype pollution to silently suppress all HTTP error responses (401, 403, 500, etc.), causing them to be treated as successful responses. This completely bypasses application-level authentication and error handling. The root cause is that validateStatus is the only config property using the mergeDirectKeys merge strategy, which uses JavaScript's in operator — an operator that inherently traverses the prototype chain. When Object.prototype.validateStatus is polluted with () => true, all HTTP status codes are accepted as success. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.15.1 and 0.31.1.
Status
| Package | Ubuntu Release | Status |
|---|---|---|
| node-axios | 26.04 LTS resolute |
Needs evaluation
|
| 25.10 questing |
Needs evaluation
|
|
| 24.04 LTS noble |
Needs evaluation
|
|
| 22.04 LTS jammy |
Needs evaluation
|
|
| 20.04 LTS focal |
Needs evaluation
|
Severity score breakdown
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Base score |
4.8 · Medium
|
| Attack vector | Network |
| Attack complexity | High |
| Privileges required | None |
| User interaction | None |
| Scope | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | Low |
| Integrity impact | Low |
| Availability impact | None |
| Vector | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N |