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GHSA-VF2M-468P-8V99

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-05-05 00:26 – Updated: 2026-05-05 00:26
VLAI
Summary
Axios: HTTP adapter streamed responses bypass maxContentLength
Details

Summary

When responseType: 'stream' is used, Axios returns the response stream without enforcing maxContentLength. This bypasses configured response-size limits and allows unbounded downstream consumption.

Details

In lib/adapters/http.js: - 786-789: for responseType === 'stream', Axios immediately settles with the stream. - 797-810: maxContentLength enforcement exists only in the non-stream buffering branch.

So callers may set maxContentLength and still receive/read arbitrarily large streamed responses.

PoC

Environment: - Axios main at commit f7a4ee2 - Node v24.2.0

Steps:

  1. Start an HTTP server that returns a 2 MiB response body.
  2. Call Axios with:
  3. adapter: 'http'
  4. responseType: 'stream'
  5. maxContentLength: 1024
  6. Read the returned stream fully.

Observed: - Success; full 2097152 bytes readable.

Control check: - Same endpoint with responseType: 'text' and same maxContentLength: rejected with maxContentLength size of 1024 exceeded.

Impact

Type: DoS / unbounded response processing. Impacted: Node.js applications relying on maxContentLength as a safety boundary while using streamed Axios responses.

Severity
5.3 (Medium)
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
Show details on source website
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{
  "affected": [
    {
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "npm",
        "name": "axios"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "1.0.0"
            },
            {
              "fixed": "1.15.1"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "database_specific": {
        "last_known_affected_version_range": "\u003c= 0.31.0"
      },
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "npm",
        "name": "axios"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0"
            },
            {
              "fixed": "0.31.1"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2026-42036"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-770"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": true,
    "github_reviewed_at": "2026-05-05T00:26:57Z",
    "nvd_published_at": "2026-04-24T18:16:30Z",
    "severity": "MODERATE"
  },
  "details": "### Summary\n\nWhen responseType: \u0027stream\u0027 is used, Axios returns the response stream without enforcing maxContentLength. This bypasses configured response-size limits and allows unbounded downstream consumption.\n\n### Details\nIn lib/adapters/http.js:\n  - 786-789: for responseType === \u0027stream\u0027, Axios immediately settles with the stream.\n  - 797-810: maxContentLength enforcement exists only in the non-stream buffering branch.\n\nSo callers may set maxContentLength and still receive/read arbitrarily large streamed responses.\n\n### PoC\n\nEnvironment:\n- Axios main at commit f7a4ee2\n- Node v24.2.0\n\n Steps:\n\n1. Start an HTTP server that returns a 2 MiB response body.\n2. Call Axios with:\n   - adapter: \u0027http\u0027\n   - responseType: \u0027stream\u0027\n   - maxContentLength: 1024\n3. Read the returned stream fully.\n\nObserved:\n- Success; full 2097152 bytes readable.\n\nControl check:\n- Same endpoint with responseType: \u0027text\u0027 and same maxContentLength: rejected with maxContentLength size of 1024 exceeded.\n\n### Impact\nType: DoS / unbounded response processing.\nImpacted: Node.js applications relying on maxContentLength as a safety boundary while using streamed Axios responses.",
  "id": "GHSA-vf2m-468p-8v99",
  "modified": "2026-05-05T00:26:58Z",
  "published": "2026-05-05T00:26:57Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/axios/axios/security/advisories/GHSA-vf2m-468p-8v99"
    },
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-42036"
    },
    {
      "type": "PACKAGE",
      "url": "https://github.com/axios/axios"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ],
  "summary": "Axios: HTTP adapter streamed responses bypass maxContentLength"
}



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