GHSA-p68q-wchp-6fh7: High severity npm/fastify vulnerability
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
Remediation
Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.
- Upgrade
Upgrade
npm/fastifyto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 5.12.2 - Upgrade
Upgrade
fastifyto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 5.12.2 - 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
Frequently Asked Questions
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.
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.
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.
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.