Axios up to 0.31.0/1.15.0 Normalization shouldBypassProxy server-side request forgery

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical has been found in Axios up to 0.31.0/1.15.0. The affected element is the function shouldBypassProxy of the component Normalization Handler. The manipulation leads to server-side request forgery. This vulnerability is traded as CVE-2026-42038. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. There is no exploit available. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Axios up to 0.31.0/1.15.0 and classified as critical. This issue affects the function shouldBypassProxy of the component Normalization Handler. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a server-side request forgery vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-918. The web server receives a URL or similar request from an upstream component and retrieves the contents of this URL, but it does not sufficiently ensure that the request is being sent to the expected destination. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

Axios is a promise based HTTP client for the browser and Node.js. Prior to 1.15.1 and 0.31.1, he fix for no_proxy hostname normalization bypass is incomplete. When no_proxy=localhost is set, requests to 127.0.0.1 and [::1] still route through the proxy instead of bypassing it. The shouldBypassProxy() function does pure string matching — it does not resolve IP aliases or loopback equivalents. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.15.1 and 0.31.1.

It is possible to read the advisory at github.com. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2026-42038 since 04/23/2026. The exploitation is known to be difficult. The attack may be initiated remotely. No form of authentication is needed for a successful exploitation. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 313224 (Node.js Module axios < 1.15.1 Multiple Vulnerabilities), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 0.31.1 or 1.15.1 eliminates this vulnerability.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (313224) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2026-1687). Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Affected

• IBM License Metric Tool

Productinfo

Name

• Axios

Version

• 0.1
• 0.2
• 0.3
• 0.4
• 0.5
• 0.6
• 0.7
• 0.8
• 0.9
• 0.10
• 0.11
• 0.12
• 0.13
• 0.14
• 0.15
• 0.16
• 0.17
• 0.18
• 0.19
• 0.20
• 0.21
• 0.22
• 0.23
• 0.24
• 0.25
• 0.26
• 0.27
• 0.28
• 0.29
• 0.30
• 0.31.0
• 1.0
• 1.1
• 1.2
• 1.3
• 1.4
• 1.5
• 1.6
• 1.7
• 1.8
• 1.9
• 1.10
• 1.11
• 1.12
• 1.13
• 1.14
• 1.15.0

Website

• Product: https://github.com/axios/axios/

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Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

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