follow-redirects array-form headers bypass cross-origin credential stripping

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS 4.0

8.2 · CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N · score source

EPSS

• CVE-2026-111756: 0.47% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 40.79 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Summary follow-redirects removes sensitive credential headers (Authorization, Proxy-Authorization, Cookie, and any caller-declared sensitiveHeaders) before following a redirect that crosses to a different host or downgrades to a less secure protocol. The removal routine iterates the caller's headers container with for...in and matches header names against a filter. This assumes the headers container is a plain object keyed by header names. Node's underlying http.request, which follow-redirects is a drop-in replacement for, also accepts headers as an alternating array of names and values. For an array, for...in yields the numeric indices "0", "1", "2" and so on, which never match a header-name filter, so nothing is removed. An application that sends array-form headers and follows an attacker-controlled cross-origin redirect therefore forwards its Authorization, Cookie, and Proxy-Authorization headers verbatim to the attacker-controlled destination, with no error or warning. The…

Published by the source

20 Oct 2026, 17:58 UTC

Last modified by the source

20 Oct 2026, 18:15 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 13:07 UTC

1. Revision 4 · amended · 26 Oct 2026

   Amended from ghsa record GHSA-q3jh-wrc6-jgq8

2. Revision 3 · amended · 25 Oct 2026

   Reviewed OSV alias/range/CVSS4 correction; package source scopes and original publication preserved. No customer finding resolved.

3. Revision 2 · amended · 24 Oct 2026

   Amended from osv record GHSA-q3jh-wrc6-jgq8

4. Revision 1 · created · 23 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-q3jh-wrc6-jgq8

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2026-111756

Advisory: follow-redirects array-form headers bypass cross-origin credential stripping
IDs: CVE-2026-111756, GHSA-q3jh-wrc6-jgq8
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2026-111756 (revision 4, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 13:07 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: High (CVSS 8.2)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: follow-redirects 1.16.1. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- npm follow-redirects: affected >= 1.16.0, < 1.16.1; fixed in 1.16.1

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- `npm ls follow-redirects --all`: lists every installed copy and version, including transitive ones. Run in the project root after `npm ci`.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on follow-redirects.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-q3jh-wrc6-jgq8 (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-q3jh-wrc6-jgq8 lists affected ranges: npm follow-redirects >=1.16.0 <1.16.1)
- Verified: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-q3jh-wrc6-jgq8 (OSV record GHSA-q3jh-wrc6-jgq8 lists affected ranges: npm follow-redirects >=1.16.0 <1.16.1 (fixed))

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