GHSA-p68q-wchp-6fh7: High severity npm/fastify vulnerability

Published Sep 30, 2026
·
Updated

Impact

Fastify routes a malformed URL under one plugin prefix to the custom not-found handler of a different sibling plugin, invoking the handler registered last and skipping the preHandler declared in its setNotFoundHandler(). When the request method has no route in the main router, a malformed request target reaches Fastify's internal not-found router before URL decoding and is dispatched through a single shared handler pointer, regardless of prefix and without the normal request lifecycle. An unauthenticated request to a public prefix can therefore reach an authentication-protected not-found handler registered under a different prefix and receive its full response, breaking prefix encapsulation and bypassing the authentication hook. Applications whose private or tenant fallbacks return protected data from a not-found handler are affected.

Patches

Patched in fastify 5.12.2. Malformed URLs are now routed through the configured onBadUrl and onMaxParamLength handlers so they fail closed before any application not-found handler runs, and the shared not-found handler pointer has been removed.

Workarounds

Reject malformed request targets before they reach the application, for example at an upstream proxy or gateway, and do not rely on a not-found handler to serve protected data. A global onRequest authentication hook does not mitigate this, because the malformed-URL path skips it.

Affected Software

1 affected componentFixes available
npm/fastify>=4.0.0<5.12.2
5.12.2

Remediation

Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.

  1. Upgrade

    Upgrade npm/fastify to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 5.12.2
  2. Upgrade

    Upgrade fastify to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 5.12.2
  3. Compensating control

    Reject malformed request targets before they reach the application, for example at an upstream proxy or gateway, and do not rely on a not-found handler to serve protected data.

Event History

Sep 30, 2026
Advisory Published
via GitHub·11:45 PM
Data Sourced
via GitHub·11:45 PM
DescriptionSeverityWeaknessAffected Software

Frequently Asked Questions

1

Which applications are exposed to meaningful impact?

Applications are affected when private or tenant-specific not-found handlers return protected data. The issue crosses sibling plugin prefixes, allowing a request to a public prefix to invoke an authentication-protected fallback under another prefix.

2

What does an attacker need to exploit this?

An attacker needs only an unauthenticated malformed request target sent to a public plugin prefix. The affected request method must have no matching route in the main router.

3

Which version fixes the issue?

Fastify 5.12.2 contains the fix. It routes malformed URLs through the configured onBadUrl and onMaxParamLength handlers before an application not-found handler can run.

4

What can be done before upgrading?

Reject malformed request targets before they reach the application. This prevents malformed URLs from reaching the vulnerable internal not-found routing path.

Contact

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