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Medium, CVSS 6.9amended

Axios: unbounded recursion in toFormData causes DoS via deeply nested request data

CVE-2026-42039GHSA-62hf-57xw-28j9

What to do

Vendor fix available. Upgrade each affected package to the fixed version on its release line (axios 1.15.1, 0.31.1), redeploy, then verify what is actually installed.

This page has no inventory attached, so it cannot say whether you are affected. A vendor fix is not proof that your deployment is fixed.

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Affected packages

  • npm axios

    Affected
    >= 1.0.0, < 1.15.1<= 0.31.0
    Fixed in
    0.31.1, 1.15.1

Sources

Severity and exploitation
Exploitation
No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.
CVSS 4.0
6.9 · CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N · score source
EPSS
  • CVE-2026-42039: 0.77% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 55.73 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.
Source description

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Summary toFormData recursively walks nested objects with no depth limit, so a deeply nested value passed as request data crashes the Node.js process with a RangeError. Details lib/helpers/toFormData.js:210 defines an inner build(value, path) that recurses into every object/array child (line 225: build(el, path ? path.concat(key) : [key])). The only safeguard is a stack array used to detect circular references; there is no maximum depth and no try/catch around the recursion. Because build calls itself once per nesting level, a payload nested roughly 2000+ levels deep exhausts V8's call stack. toFormData is the serializer behind FormData request bodies and AxiosURLSearchParams (used by buildURL when params is an object with URLSearchParams unavailable, see lib/helpers/buildURL.js:53 and lib/helpers/AxiosURLSearchParams.js:36). Any server-side code that forwards a client-supplied object into axios({ data, params }) therefore reaches the recursive walker with attacker-controlled depth.…

Dates and revisions
Published by the source
Last modified by the source
Source last checked
  1. Revision 3 · amended ·

    Amended from ghsa record GHSA-62hf-57xw-28j9

  2. Revision 2 · amended ·

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

  3. Revision 1 · created ·

    Published from osv record GHSA-62hf-57xw-28j9

Agent brief

Preview the exact text before you copy it. Commands are read-only suggestions; review them before running anything.

# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2026-42039

Advisory: Axios: unbounded recursion in toFormData causes DoS via deeply nested request data
IDs: CVE-2026-42039, GHSA-62hf-57xw-28j9
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2026-42039 (revision 3, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 12:53 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Medium (CVSS 6.9)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: axios 1.15.1, 0.31.1. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- npm axios: affected >= 1.0.0, < 1.15.1; <= 0.31.0; fixed in 0.31.1, 1.15.1

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- `npm ls axios --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 axios.
- 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://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-62hf-57xw-28j9 (OSV record GHSA-62hf-57xw-28j9 lists affected ranges: npm axios >=1.0.0 =0 <0.31.1 (fixed))
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-62hf-57xw-28j9 (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-62hf-57xw-28j9 lists affected ranges: npm axios >=1.0.0 =0 <=0.31.0)

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