Description
### Summary
`qs.stringify` with `arrayFormat: 'comma'` throws `TypeError: Cannot convert object to primitive value` when an array element cannot be coerced to a string, such as an object with an own non-callable `toString` (`{ "toString": "x" }`) or a null-prototype object. The comma format joins array elements with `Array.prototype.join` and, under `encodeValuesOnly`, first passes each element through `String()` in `utils.encode`; neither guards against an element whose string coercion fails.
### Details
In `lib/stringify.js`, the comma branch collapses the array with `obj.join(',')`. For an element whose own `toString` is not callable, `ToPrimitive` skips it, falls through to `Object.prototype.valueOf` (which returns the object itself), and throws. Under `encodeValuesOnly: true`, the same element first reaches `String(str)` in `utils.encode` (`lib/utils.js`) and throws there. Nested arrays (`{ "a": [[{ "toString": "x" }]] }`) throw the same way, through `Array.prototype.toString`. The `indices`, `brackets`, and `repeat` formats walk into object elements instead of coercing them, and are not affected.
Such elements can come from untrusted input. `JSON.parse` produces `{ "a": [{ "toString": "x" }] }` with no qs option involved. `qs.parse("a[0][toString]=x", { allowPrototypes: true })` keeps the `toString` key, and `qs.parse("a[][b]=c", { plainObjects: true })` produces a null-prototype element; the default parse options drop `toString` and produce ordinary objects, which do not throw. Express 4's default `query parser`, Express 5's `extended` query parser, and body-parser's `urlencoded({ extended: true })` all call `qs.parse` with `allowPrototypes: true`.
#### PoC
```js
var qs = require("qs");
qs.stringify(JSON.parse("{\"a\":[{\"toString\":\"x\"}]}"), { arrayFormat: "comma" });
qs.stringify(qs.parse("a[0][toString]=x", { allowPrototypes: true }), { arrayFormat: "comma" });
qs.stringify(qs.parse("a[][b]=c", { plainObjects: true }), { arrayFormat: "comma", encodeValuesOnly: true });
// TypeError: Cannot convert object to primitive value
```
#### Fix
Applied in a952e75 on `main` and released as v6.16.1: an element whose string coercion would fail is coerced to its primitive `valueOf`, if any, or else to `Object.prototype.toString`, so it renders as `[object Object]`, the same as any other object element already does under the comma format. Nested arrays are walked the way `join` walks them. Every input that did not previously throw serializes exactly as before, and a `toString` or `valueOf` that itself throws still propagates.
### Affected versions
`>=6.7.0 <6.16.1`, fixed in v6.16.1.
The `join` path was introduced with the comma format in b84acba and first shipped in v6.7.0; v6.6.x and earlier ignore `arrayFormat: 'comma'` and are not affected. The `encodeValuesOnly` `String()` site was introduced in 4c4b23d (v6.11.1); before that, the same input throws at `join`. Every release from v6.7.0 through v6.16.0 is affected.
### Impact
An unauthenticated request can make any code path that re-serializes attacker-influenced data with `qs.stringify` and `arrayFormat: 'comma'` (for example, rebuilding a query string from `req.query` for a redirect or an upstream request, or serializing a parsed JSON body) throw synchronously. In a typical Node.js HTTP framework the throw is caught by the framework error boundary and the affected request returns a 500; the process survives and other requests are unaffected. Where the call runs outside an error boundary, such as an `async` Express 4 handler (where the throw becomes an unhandled promise rejection) or a bare `http` request handler, the process exits, so the impact in that case depends on the application error handling rather than on qs. The default `arrayFormat` (`indices`) is not affected.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| ljharb | qs | 6.7.0 – < 6.16.1 | 6.16.1 |
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.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | node-qs | No fix yet | — |
| Debian 13 | node-qs | No fix yet | — |
| Debian 12 | node-qs | No fix yet | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 26.10 | node-qs | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | node-qs | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | node-qs | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | node-qs | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | node-qs | No fix yet | — |
Show 3 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | node-qs | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 20.04 LTS | node-qs | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 14.04 LTS | node-qs | No fix yet | — |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Hardened Images 1 | grafana12.4 | 12.4.13-0.4.hum1 | RHSA-2026:90388 |
| Red Hat Hardened Images 1 | grafana13.1 | 13.1.8-0.3.hum1 | RHSA-2026:87077 |
| Red Hat Hardened Images 1 | grafana13.2 | 13.2.3-0.3.hum1 | RHSA-2026:85266 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | git-bug | 0.11.0-3.1 | openSUSE-SU-2026:12261-1 |
Azure Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azure Linux 3 | js-jquery +1 | No fix yet | — |
Wolfi
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wolfi rolling | json-server | 0.17.4-r16 | — |
| Wolfi rolling | opensearch-dashboards-3 +3 | 3.9.0-r6 | — |
| Wolfi rolling | prism | 5.16.0-r21 | — |
| Wolfi rolling | renovate | 44.198.3-r1 | — |
Affected packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected | Fixed | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| npm | qs | >= 6.7.0, < 6.16.1 | 6.16.1 | GHSA-6pq8-jhm2-2vcw |
Advisories 4
- RHSA-2026:90388 Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Hardened Images RPMs Security Update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Nov 13, 2026
- RHSA-2026:87077 Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Hardened Images RPMs Security Update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Nov 13, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2026:12261-1 git-bug-0.11.0-3.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Oct 25, 2026
- RHSA-2026:85266 Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Hardened Images RPMs Security Update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Oct 20, 2026