Axios has a NO_PROXY Hostname Normalization Bypass that Leads to SSRF
Axios does not correctly handle hostname normalization when checking NO_PROXY rules.
Requests to loopback addresses like localhost. (with a trailing dot) or [::1] (IPv6 literal) skip NO_PROXY matching and go through the configured proxy.
This goes against what developers expect and lets attackers force requests through a proxy, even if NO_PROXY is set up to protect loopback or internal services.
According to RFC 1034 §3.1 and RFC 3986 §3.2.2, a hostname can have a trailing dot to show it is a fully qualified domain name (FQDN). At the DNS level, localhost. is the same as localhost.
However, Axios does a literal string comparison instead of normalizing hostnames before checking NO_PROXY. This causes requests like http://localhost.:8080/ and http://[::1]:8080/ to be incorrectly proxied.
This issue leads to the possibility of proxy bypass and SSRF vulnerabilities allowing attackers to reach sensitive loopback or internal services despite the configured protections.
PoC
import http from "http";
import axios from "axios";
const proxyPort = 5300;
http.createServer((req, res) => {
console.log("[PROXY] Got:", req.method, req.url, "Host:", req.headers.host);
res.writeHead(200, { "Content-Type": "text/plain" });
res.end("proxied");
}).listen(proxyPort, () => console.log("Proxy", proxyPort));
process.env.HTTP_PROXY = `http://127.0.0.1:${proxyPort}`;
process.env.NO_PROXY = "localhost,127.0.0.1,::1";
async function test(url) {
try {
await axios.get(url, { timeout: 2000 });
} catch {}
}
setTimeout(async () => {
console.log("\n[*] Testing http://localhost.:8080/");
await test("http://localhost.:8080/"); // goes through proxy
console.log("\n[*] Testing http://[::1]:8080/");
await test("http://[::1]:8080/"); // goes through proxy
}, 500);
Expected: Requests bypass the proxy (direct to loopback).
Actual: Proxy logs requests for localhost. and [::1].
Impact
-
Applications that rely on
NO_PROXY=localhost,127.0.0.1,::1for protecting loopback/internal access are vulnerable. -
Attackers controlling request URLs can:
- Force Axios to send local traffic through an attacker-controlled proxy.
- Bypass SSRF mitigations relying on NO_PROXY rules.
- Potentially exfiltrate sensitive responses from internal services via the proxy.
Affected Versions
- Confirmed on Axios 1.12.2 (latest at time of testing).
- affects all versions that rely on Axios’ current
NO_PROXYevaluation.
Remediation
Axios should normalize hostnames before evaluating NO_PROXY, including:
- Strip trailing dots from hostnames (per RFC 3986).
- Normalize IPv6 literals by removing brackets for matching.
Affected software
Click a technology to see all vulnerabilities affecting it.
| Platform | Package | Vulnerable versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| npm package | axios | >= 1.0.0, < 1.15.0, < 0.31.0 | 1.15.0, 0.31.0 |
References
- https://github.com/axios/axios/security/advisories/GHSA-3p68-rc4w-qgx5
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-62718
- https://github.com/axios/axios/pull/10661
- https://github.com/axios/axios/pull/10688
- https://github.com/axios/axios/commit/03cdfc99e8db32a390e12128208b6778492cee9c
- https://github.com/axios/axios/commit/fb3befb6daac6cad26b2e54094d0f2d9e47f24df
- https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc1034#section-3.1
- https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc3986#section-3.2.2
- https://github.com/axios/axios
- https://github.com/axios/axios/releases/tag/v0.31.0
- https://github.com/axios/axios/releases/tag/v1.15.0
- CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N- Weakness (CWE)
CWE-441, CWE-918- Platform
- npm
- Package
axios- Disclosed
- 09.04.2026
- Updated
- 11.10.2026 10:22
Sources and licenses
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-3p68-rc4w-qgx5 - CC BY 4.0
Vulnerability history: axios
All published vulnerabilities of this package (npm package), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.
- Total entries
- 55
- First → latest
- 05.2019 09.2026
- Without a fix
- 0
- Exploited in attacks
- 0
Severity breakdown
- High 25
- Medium 28
- Low 2
Disclosures per year
- 2019: 1
- 2020: 0
- 2021: 2
- 2022: 0
- 2023: 1
- 2024: 1
- 2025: 2
- 2026: 48
-
Axios has a NO_PROXY Hostname Normalization Bypass that Leads to SSRF this entry
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