{"schema":"threatline.record/2","record":{"id":"CVE-2026-110816","aliases":["GHSA-6pq8-jhm2-2vcw"],"summary":"qs.stringify with arrayFormat comma throws TypeError on array elements that cannot be coerced to a string","details":"### Summary\n\n\n\n`qs.stringify` with `arrayFormat: 'comma'` throws `TypeError: Cannot convert object to primitive value` when an array element cannot be coerced to a string, such as an object with an own non-callable `toString` (`{ \"toString\": \"x\" }`) or a null-prototype object. The comma format joins array elements with `Array.prototype.join` and, under `encodeValuesOnly`, first passes each element through `String()` in `utils.encode`; neither guards against an element whose string coercion fails.\n\n\n\n### Details\n\n\n\nIn `lib/stringify.js`, the comma branch collapses the array with `obj.join(',')`. For an element whose own `toString` is not callable, `ToPrimitive` skips it, falls through to `Object.prototype.valueOf` (which returns the object itself), and throws. Under `encodeValuesOnly: true`, the same element first reaches `String(str)` in `utils.encode` (`lib/utils.js`) and throws there. Nested arrays (`{ \"a\": [[{ \"toString\": \"x\" }]] }`) throw the same way, through `Array.prototype.toString`. The `indices`, `brackets`, and `repeat` formats walk into object elements instead of coercing them, and are not affected.\n\n\n\nSuch elements can come from untrusted input. `JSON.parse` produces `{ \"a\": [{ \"toString\": \"x\" }] }` with no qs option involved. `qs.parse(\"a[0][toString]=x\", { allowPrototypes: true })` keeps the `toString` key, and `qs.parse(\"a[][b]=c\", { plainObjects: true })` produces a null-prototype element; the default parse options drop `toString` and produce ordinary objects, which do not throw. Express 4's default `query parser`, Express 5's `extended` query parser, and body-parser's `urlencoded({ extended: true })` all call `qs.parse` with `allowPrototypes: true`.\n\n\n\n#### PoC\n\n\n\n```js\n\n\n\nvar qs = require(\"qs\");\n\n\n\nqs.stringify(JSON.parse(\"{\\\"a\\\":[{\\\"toString\\\":\\\"x\\\"}]}\"), { arrayFormat: \"comma\" });\n\n\n\nqs.stringify(qs.parse(\"a[0][toString]=x\", { allowPrototypes: true }), { arrayFormat: \"comma\" });\n\n\n\nqs.stringify(qs.parse(\"a[][b]=c\", { plainObjects: true }), { arrayFormat: \"comma\", encodeValuesOnly: true });\n\n\n\n// TypeError: Cannot convert object to primitive value\n\n\n\n```\n\n\n\n#### Fix\n\n\n\nApplied in a952e75 on `main` and released as v6.16.1: an element whose string coercion would fail is coerced to its primitive `valueOf`, if any, or else to `Object.prototype.toString`, so it renders as `[object Object]`, the same as any other object element already does under the comma format. Nested arrays are walked the way `join` walks them. Every input that did not previously throw serializes exactly as before, and a `toString` or `valueOf` that itself throws still propagates.\n\n\n\n### Affected versions\n\n\n\n`>=6.7.0 <6.16.1`, fixed in v6.16.1.\n\n\n\nThe `join` path was introduced with the comma format in b84acba and first shipped in v6.7.0; v6.6.x and earlier ignore `arrayFormat: 'comma'` and are not affected. The `encodeValuesOnly` `String()` site was introduced in 4c4b23d (v6.11.1); before that, the same input throws at `join`. Every release from v6.7.0 through v6.16.0 is affected.\n\n\n\n### Impact\n\n\n\nAn unauthenticated request can make any code path that re-serializes attacker-influenced data with `qs.stringify` and `arrayFormat: 'comma'` (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 bare `http` request handler, the process exits, so the impact in that case depends on the application error handling rather than on qs. The default `arrayFormat` (`indices`) is not affected.","categories":["Unclassified"],"product":"qs","vendor":"ljharb","ecosystem":null,"affected_ranges":[{"source":"CVE List","source_url":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-110816","source_modified_at":"2026-10-16T20:17:48.588Z","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T18:48:36.087640Z","product":"qs","vendor":"ljharb","versions":[{"status":"affected","version":"6.7.0","lessThan":"6.16.1","versionType":"semver"}],"defaultStatus":"unaffected"}],"fixed_versions":[{"source":"CVE List","source_url":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-110816","source_modified_at":"2026-10-16T20:17:48.588Z","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T18:48:36.087640Z","package":{"name":"qs","ecosystem":null},"version":"6.16.1","basis":"first unaffected version stated in the CVE record"}],"cvss":5.3,"severity":"Medium","kev":{"listed":false},"epss":{"probability":0.00304,"percentile":0.22038,"score_date":"2026-10-23"},"published_at":"2026-10-14T22:05:24.015Z","modified_at":"2026-10-16T20:17:48.588Z","provenance":[{"source":"CVE List","url":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-110816","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T18:48:36.087640Z","source_modified_at":"2026-10-16T20:17:48.588Z"},{"source":"EPSS","url":"https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2026-110816","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T18:42:43.628194Z","source_modified_at":"2026-10-23"}],"sources":["CVE List","EPSS"],"references":[{"source":"CVE List","url":"https://github.com/ljharb/qs/security/advisories/GHSA-6pq8-jhm2-2vcw","tags":["exploit"]},{"source":"CVE List","url":"https://github.com/ljharb/qs/commit/a952e7519338ef0cfb25694a2988848f93333727","tags":["patch"]}],"locations":[],"motoko_assessment":{"status":"requires_architecture_review","automatic_remediation":false},"cve_state":"PUBLISHED","cvss_source":"CVE List","ssvc":{"exploitation":"poc","automatable":"yes","technical_impact":"partial","assessed_at":"2026-10-16T20:17:24.605809Z"},"classification":{"method":"product-first software-layer rules","rules_version":"2.1","matched_on":null,"confidence":"unknown","reviewed":false},"change_timestamp":"2026-10-16T20:17:48.588Z","content_hash":"dd24e33abb755cc3a672392709eeca71f2df4795c8da98629e497f39fd35a079"}}