CVE-2020-28271 in deephas
Summary
by MITRE • 11/12/2020
Prototype pollution vulnerability in 'deephas' versions 1.0.0 through 1.0.5 allows attacker to cause a denial of service and may lead to remote code execution.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/19/2026
The CVE-2020-28271 vulnerability represents a critical prototype pollution flaw within the deephas npm package version range 1.0.0 through 1.0.5. This vulnerability arises from improper handling of object property assignment during deep object traversal operations, creating a pathway for malicious actors to manipulate the prototype chain of JavaScript objects. The affected package is commonly used in applications that require deep object property access and manipulation, making it a significant concern for developers who rely on this utility for configuration management, data processing, and object composition tasks.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability stems from the package's failure to properly validate or sanitize object property names during deep traversal operations. When an attacker can inject malicious property names containing special characters or sequences that modify the Object.prototype, they can effectively pollute the prototype chain with unintended properties. This occurs because the vulnerable code does not adequately check for reserved property names or prevent modification of prototype properties during runtime object manipulation. The flaw specifically manifests when processing user-provided input through functions that traverse nested object structures, allowing attackers to inject properties that can affect all objects inheriting from the same prototype.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service to potentially enable remote code execution in certain contexts. An attacker can leverage prototype pollution to manipulate object behavior, potentially leading to code injection scenarios where malicious code executes within the application's context. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it can be exploited through various attack vectors including API endpoints, configuration files, or user input processing pipelines that utilize deephas for object manipulation. When combined with other vulnerabilities or specific application configurations, this prototype pollution can enable attackers to escalate privileges or execute arbitrary code on affected systems. The vulnerability affects not only the immediate application but can also compromise the entire JavaScript runtime environment where the package is utilized.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2020-28271 should prioritize immediate package updates to versions 1.0.6 or later where the prototype pollution vulnerability has been addressed through proper input validation and object property sanitization. Organizations should implement comprehensive dependency auditing to identify all instances of affected deephas versions within their codebases and conduct thorough security assessments of applications that utilize this package. The remediation process must include not only updating the vulnerable package but also implementing proper input validation mechanisms, sanitizing user-provided data before processing, and employing secure coding practices that prevent prototype pollution in object manipulation operations. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing runtime protections such as prototype lockdown mechanisms, content security policies, and regular security scanning of npm dependencies to prevent similar vulnerabilities from being introduced in the future. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-471 and CWE-472 categories related to inadequate protection against prototype pollution, and represents a significant concern under ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for script injection and T1211 for exploitation of software vulnerabilities.