High

Prototype Pollution Protection Bypass in qs

Disclosed: 30.04.2020
Updated: 11.10.2026 10:22

Affected version of qs are vulnerable to Prototype Pollution because it is possible to bypass the protection. The qs.parse function fails to properly prevent an object's prototype to be altered when parsing arbitrary input. Input containing [ or ] may bypass the prototype pollution protection and alter the Object prototype. This allows attackers to override properties that will exist in all objects, which may lead to Denial of Service or Remote Code Execution in specific circumstances.

Recommendation

Upgrade to 6.0.4, 6.1.2, 6.2.3, 6.3.2 or later.

Affected software

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Platform	Package	Vulnerable versions	Fixed in
npm package	qs	< 6.0.4, >= 6.1.0, < 6.1.2, >= 6.2.0, < 6.2.3, >= 6.3.0, < 6.3.2	6.0.4, 6.1.2, 6.2.3, 6.3.2

References

CVSS score 7.5/10

CVSS vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Weakness (CWE): CWE-20
Platform: npm
Package: qs
Disclosed: 30.04.2020
Updated: 11.10.2026 10:22

Sources and licenses

OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-gqgv-6jq5-jjj9 - CC BY 4.0

Vulnerability history: qs

All published vulnerabilities of this package (npm package), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.

All (9) in the archive

Total entries: 9
First → latest: 10.2017 09.2026
Without a fix: 0
Exploited in attacks: 0

Severity breakdown

High 4
Medium 4
Low 1

Disclosures per year

2017: 1
2018: 1
2019: 0
2020: 1
2021: 0
2022: 1
2023: 0
2024: 0
2025: 1
2026: 4

27.11.2022

qs vulnerable to Prototype Pollution

High · 7.5 CVE-2022-24999 >= 6.10.0, < 6.10.3, >= 6.9.0, < 6.9.7, >= 6.8.0, < 6.8.3, >= 6.7.0, < 6.7.3, >= 6.6.0, < 6.6.1, >= 6.5.0, < 6.5.3, >= 6.4.0, < 6.4.1, >= 6.3.0, < 6.3.3, < 6.2.4 6.10.3, 6.9.7, 6.8.3, 6.7.3, 6.6.1, 6.5.3, 6.4.1, 6.3.3, 6.2.4
30.04.2020

Prototype Pollution Protection Bypass in qs this entry

High · 7.5 CVE-2017-1000048 < 6.0.4, >= 6.1.0, < 6.1.2, >= 6.2.0, < 6.2.3, >= 6.3.0, < 6.3.2 6.0.4, 6.1.2, 6.2.3, 6.3.2
09.10.2018

Denial-of-Service Extended Event Loop Blocking in qs

High CVE-2014-10064 < 1.0.0 1.0.0
24.10.2017

Denial-of-Service Memory Exhaustion in qs

High CVE-2014-7191 < 1.0.0 1.0.0

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