CVE-2026-82417
Received
Received - Intake
TypeError in qs.stringify due to unguarded constructor.isBuffer call
Vulnerability report for CVE-2026-82417, including description, CVSS score, EPSS score, affected products, exploitability, helpful resources, and attack-flow context.
Publication date: 2026-08-30
Last updated on: 2026-08-30
Assigner: harborist
Description
Description
### Summary
`qs.stringify` throws a `TypeError` when it serializes an object whose own `constructor` property has a truthy, non-callable `isBuffer` member. `utils.isBuffer` duck-types buffers by calling `obj.constructor.isBuffer(obj)` after checking only that the property is truthy, so a value such as `{ constructor: { isBuffer: "x" } }` makes the call throw `TypeError: obj.constructor.isBuffer is not a function`.
### Details
`lib/stringify.js:127` calls `utils.isBuffer` on every non-primitive value it serializes. `utils.isBuffer` (`lib/utils.js:332`) reads `obj.constructor.isBuffer` and invokes it without verifying that it is a function. `constructor` and `isBuffer` are ordinary property names, so any object carrying them as own properties reaches the unchecked call.
Such an object can be built from untrusted input. `qs.parse("x[constructor][isBuffer]=y", { plainObjects: true })` or `{ allowPrototypes: true }` keeps the `constructor` key as an own property (the default parse options drop it), and `JSON.parse("{\"a\":{\"constructor\":{\"isBuffer\":\"x\"}}}")` produces the same shape with no qs option involved. Express 4 with its default `query parser` setting and body-parser with `extended: true` both call `qs.parse` with `allowPrototypes: true`, so on those stacks `req.query` and `req.body` can carry the shape directly.
#### PoC
```js
var qs = require("qs");
qs.stringify(qs.parse("x[constructor][isBuffer]=y", { plainObjects: true }));
qs.stringify(JSON.parse("{\"a\":{\"constructor\":{\"isBuffer\":\"x\"}}}"));
// TypeError: obj.constructor.isBuffer is not a function
// at Object.isBuffer (lib/utils.js:332:78)
// at stringify (lib/stringify.js:127:45)
```
#### Fix
`lib/utils.js`, applied in e83d321 on `main` and released as v6.16.0:
```diff
- return !!(obj.constructor && obj.constructor.isBuffer && obj.constructor.isBuffer(obj));
+ return !!(obj.constructor && typeof obj.constructor.isBuffer === "function" && obj.constructor.isBuffer(obj));
```
Real `Buffer`, `safer-buffer`, and browserify `buffer` polyfill instances serialize exactly as before; only the throw is removed.
### Affected versions
`>=2.2.5 <6.16.0`, fixed in v6.16.0.
The unguarded duck-type was introduced in 3768a75 and first shipped in v2.2.5 (September 2014). v2.2.4 and earlier used `Buffer.isBuffer` and are not affected. Every release from v2.2.5 through v6.15.3 contains the unguarded call.
### Impact
An unauthenticated request can make any code path that re-serializes attacker-influenced data with `qs.stringify` (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 background job, the process exits, so the impact in that case depends on the application error handling rather than on qs.
CVSS Scores
EPSS Scores
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| Percentile: |
Meta Information
Affected Vendors & Products
| Vendor | Product | Version / Range |
|---|---|---|
| ljharb | qs | 2.2.5 |
| ljharb | qs | 6.15.3 |
| ljharb | qs | From 2.2.5 (inc) to 6.16.0 (exc) |
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
CWE
KEV
| CWE ID | Description |
|---|---|
| CWE-248 | An exception is thrown from a function, but it is not caught. |
| CWE-703 | The product does not properly anticipate or handle exceptional conditions that rarely occur during normal operation of the product. |
