CVE-2021-25944
deep-defaults vulnerable to prototype pollution
Prototype pollution vulnerability in 'deep-defaults' versions 1.0.0 through 1.0.5 allows attacker to cause a denial of service and may lead to remote code execution.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
NVD Score used
9.8
Prototype pollution vulnerability in 'deep-defaults' versions 1.0.0 through 1.0.5 allows attacker to cause a denial of service and may lead to remote code execution.
- Record
CVE-2021-25944- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 7.5 High
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P - Weakness
- CWE-1321
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
CVE List No score
Prototype pollution vulnerability in 'deep-defaults' versions 1.0.0 through 1.0.5 allows attacker to cause a denial of service and may lead to remote code execution.
- Record
CVE-2021-25944- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2022-4090 No score
Prototype pollution vulnerability in 'deep-defaults' versions 1.0.0 through 1.0.5 allows attacker to cause a denial of service and may lead to remote code execution.
- Record
EUVD-2022-4090- Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-h6xg-rg33-9mf4
9.8
deep-defaults vulnerable to prototype pollution
Overview
Prototype pollution vulnerability in 'deep-defaults' versions 1.0.0 through 1.0.5 allows attacker to cause a denial of service and may lead to remote code execution.
Details
The NPM module deep-defaults can be abused by Prototype Pollution vulnerability since the function _deepDefaults() does not check for the type of object before assigning value to the property. Due to this flaw an attacker could create a non-existent property or able to manipulate the property which leads to Denial of Service or potentially Remote code execution.
PoC
The _deepDefaults () function accepts dest, src as arguments. Due to the absence of validation on the values passed into the src argument, an attacker can supply a malicious value by adjusting the value to include the __proto__ property. Since there is no validation before assigning the property to check whether the assigned argument is the Object's own property or not, the property polluted will be directly be assigned to the new object thereby polluting the Object prototype. Later in the code, if there is a check to validate polluted the valued would be substituted as "Yes! Its Polluted" as it had been polluted.
var deepDefaults = require("deep-defaults")
var malicious_payload = '{"__proto__":{"polluted":"Yes! Its Polluted"}}';
var obj ={};
console.log("Before : " + {}.polluted);
deepDefaults(obj, JSON.parse(malicious_payload));
console.log("After : " + {}.polluted);
- Record
GHSA-h6xg-rg33-9mf4- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-1321
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-h6xg-rg33-9mf4
9.8
deep-defaults vulnerable to prototype pollution
Overview
Prototype pollution vulnerability in 'deep-defaults' versions 1.0.0 through 1.0.5 allows attacker to cause a denial of service and may lead to remote code execution.
Details
The NPM module deep-defaults can be abused by Prototype Pollution vulnerability since the function _deepDefaults() does not check for the type of object before assigning value to the property. Due to this flaw an attacker could create a non-existent property or able to manipulate the property which leads to Denial of Service or potentially Remote code execution.
PoC
The _deepDefaults () function accepts dest, src as arguments. Due to the absence of validation on the values passed into the src argument, an attacker can supply a malicious value by adjusting the value to include the __proto__ property. Since there is no validation before assigning the property to check whether the assigned argument is the Object's own property or not, the property polluted will be directly be assigned to the new object thereby polluting the Object prototype. Later in the code, if there is a check to validate polluted the valued would be substituted as "Yes! Its Polluted" as it had been polluted.
var deepDefaults = require("deep-defaults")
var malicious_payload = '{"__proto__":{"polluted":"Yes! Its Polluted"}}';
var obj ={};
console.log("Before : " + {}.polluted);
deepDefaults(obj, JSON.parse(malicious_payload));
console.log("After : " + {}.polluted);
- Record
GHSA-h6xg-rg33-9mf4- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-1321
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
deep-defaultsnpm |
1.0.0 to 1.0.5 | None known |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2021-25944 is a critical vulnerability (CVSS 9.8) in Deep-defaults Project Deep-defaults, published May 25, 2021. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 2.96%, the 87th percentile. No source names a fixed version.
References
whitesourcesoftware.com/vulnerability-database/CVE-2021-25944
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-25944
github.com/d5/deep-defaults/blob/321d0e2231aa807d54e7f95d75c22048a806923f/lib/index.js
web.archive.org/web/20210525211925/https://www.whitesourcesoftware.com/vulnerability-database/CVE-2021-25944
github.com/advisories/GHSA-h6xg-rg33-9mf4
github.com/d5/deep-defaults