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Critical

Remote Prototype Pollution in i18next-http-middleware missingKeyHandler

IdentifiersCVE-2026-48714CWE-1321· Improperly Controlled Modification…

CVE-2026-48714 is a prototype pollution vulnerability in i18next-http-middleware affecting versions prior to 3.9.7. The flaw is in missingKeyHandler: although the middleware blocked literal request-body keys such as proto, constructor, and prototype beginning in 3.9.3, it failed to reject dotted variants such as "proto.polluted". When such attacker-controlled keys are forwarded to downstream backends that split missing-key strings using a configured keySeparator, notably i18next-fs-backend <= 2.6.5, they can reach an unguarded setPath()-style walker and cause writes to Object.prototype. In deployments that expose missingKeyHandler to untrusted input, this creates a remotely exploitable prototype pollution condition.

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Impact, mitigation & remediation

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Impact

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Successful exploitation allows remote modification of Object.prototype in affected application contexts. Depending on how the host application uses object properties, this can lead to application crashes, corrupted translation behavior, configuration poisoning, and bypass of property-based security checks. The advisory describes the issue as remotely exploitable and assigns CVSS 3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H (9.1 Critical), indicating high integrity and availability impact.

Mitigation

If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.

If immediate upgrade is not possible, do not expose missingKeyHandler to untrusted users; place the route behind authentication or remove it entirely. Add request-body filtering before the handler to reject any top-level key containing proto, constructor, or prototype after splitting on the configured keySeparator. Disable missing-key persistence by setting saveMissing to false when accepting writes influenced by untrusted input.

Remediation

Patch, then assume compromise.

Upgrade i18next-http-middleware to version 3.9.7 or later, which fixes the missingKeyHandler validation gap. Also review downstream backend dependencies, especially i18next-fs-backend, and update vulnerable backends where applicable because exploitation depends on unsafe key splitting and path traversal behavior downstream.
PUBLIC EXPLOITS

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