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High · 7.1 Public exploit CVE-2022-46175 EUVD-2022-7580GHSA-9c47-m6qq-7p4h

Prototype Pollution in JSON5 via Parse Method

Published Dec 24, 2022 · Updated Aug 3, 2024 · Assigned by GitHub_M

Description

JSON5 is an extension to the popular JSON file format that aims to be easier to write and maintain by hand (e.g. for config files). The `parse` method of the JSON5 library before and including versions 1.0.1 and 2.2.1 does not restrict parsing of keys named `__proto__`, allowing specially crafted strings to pollute the prototype of the resulting object. This vulnerability pollutes the prototype of the object returned by `JSON5.parse` and not the global Object prototype, which is the commonly understood definition of Prototype Pollution. However, polluting the prototype of a single object can have significant security impact for an application if the object is later used in trusted operations. This vulnerability could allow an attacker to set arbitrary and unexpected keys on the object returned from `JSON5.parse`. The actual impact will depend on how applications utilize the returned object and how they filter unwanted keys, but could include denial of service, cross-site scripting, elevation of privilege, and in extreme cases, remote code execution. `JSON5.parse` should restrict parsing of `__proto__` keys when parsing JSON strings to objects. As a point of reference, the `JSON.parse` method included in JavaScript ignores `__proto__` keys. Simply changing `JSON5.parse` to `JSON.parse` in the examples above mitigates this vulnerability. This vulnerability is patched in json5 versions 1.0.2, 2.2.2, and later.

Affected products

VendorProductAffectedFixed
json5 json5 < 2.2.2 —

Fixed in Linux distributions

Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.

ReleasePackageFixed inAdvisory
Debian 14 node-json5 2.2.3+dfsg-1 —
Debian 13 node-json5 2.2.3+dfsg-1 —
Debian 12 node-json5 2.2.3+dfsg-1 —
Debian 10 node-json5 0.5.1-1+deb10u1 DLA-3665-1
ReleasePackageFixed inAdvisory
Ubuntu 20.04 LTS node-json5 0.5.1-3ubuntu0.1 USN-6758-1
Show 2 more (older releases, extended support, other products)
ReleasePackageFixed inAdvisory
Ubuntu Pro 22.04 LTS node-json5 2.2.0+dfsg-1ubuntu0.1~esm1 USN-6758-1
Ubuntu Pro 18.04 LTS node-json5 0.5.1-1ubuntu0.1~esm1 USN-6758-1
ReleasePackageFixed inAdvisory
Red Hat Single Sign On 7 rh-sso7-keycloak +1 18.0.6-1.redhat_00001.1.el7sso RHSA-2023:1045, RHSA-2023:1044, RHSA-2023:1043

Azure Linux

ReleasePackageFixed inAdvisory
Azure Linux 3 js-jquery No fix yet —

Wolfi

ReleasePackageFixed inAdvisory
Wolfi rolling py3.14-json5 No fix yet —

Public exploits

Exploit or proof-of-concept code for this vulnerability is publicly available, which lowers the bar for attackers. Treat it as a reason to patch sooner.

Third-party code, not reviewed by us. Public PoCs are sometimes fake or contain malware. Read the code first and run it only in an isolated lab, against systems you are authorised to test.

GitHub 1 repository

Sources: PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB — updated daily. Only links are listed; no exploit code is hosted here.

Affected packages

EcosystemPackageAffectedFixedRecord
npm json5 >= 2.0.0, < 2.2.2 2.2.2 GHSA-9c47-m6qq-7p4h
npm json5 < 1.0.2 1.0.2 GHSA-9c47-m6qq-7p4h

Advisories 13

References