{"schema":"threatline.record/2","record":{"id":"CVE-2026-110910","aliases":["GHSA-w4cr-vjpx-p82q"],"summary":"qs.stringify with allowEmptyArrays does not encode the keys of empty arrays, allowing query string parameter injection","details":"### Summary\n\n\n\n`qs.stringify` with `allowEmptyArrays: true` writes the key of an empty array without encoding it, even though keys are encoded by default. A key that contains `&` (or the configured `delimiter`), `=`, or `#` ∴ becomes query string syntax instead of data, so a caller-supplied key name can add parameters to the serialized query string, or cut it short.\n\n\n\n### Details\n\n\n\nIn `lib/stringify.js`, the `allowEmptyArrays` branch returns `adjustedPrefix + '[]'` early, before the code that passes every other key through `encoder` and `formatter`. So `{ \"x&k=v\": [\"1\"] }` serializes as `x%26k%3Dv%5B0%5D=1`, but `{ \"x&k=v\": [] }` serializes as `x&k=v[]`. The early return applies at any depth (`{ \"a\": { \"b&k=v\": [] } }` gives `a[b&k=v][]`), under every `arrayFormat`, with `allowDots`, and with a custom `encoder`, which is never called for that key. With `encode: false` or `encodeValuesOnly: true`, keys are intentionally left unencoded on every path; those configurations are not affected.\n\n\n\n#### PoC\n\n\n\n```js\n\n\n\nvar qs = require(\"qs\");\n\n\n\nvar query = qs.stringify({ q: \"hi\", \"x&apiKey=evil&y\": [] }, { allowEmptyArrays: true });\n\n\n\n// \"q=hi&x&apiKey=evil&y[]\"\n\n\n\nqs.parse(query);\n\n\n\n// { q: \"hi\", x: \"\", apiKey: \"evil\", y: [\"\"] }\n\n\n\nqs.stringify({ \"x#\": [], z: \"1\" }, { allowEmptyArrays: true });\n\n\n\n// \"x#[]&z=1\": in a URL, everything after \"#\" becomes the fragment\n\n\n\n```\n\n\n\n#### Fix\n\n\n\nApplied in 234d505 on `main` and released as v6.17.0: the key of an empty array goes through `encoder` and `formatter` exactly as the key of any other value does, so `{ \"x&apiKey=evil&y\": [] }` now serializes as `x%26apiKey%3Devil%26y[]`. Keys that need no encoding serialize as before, with two exceptions that match every other path: the brackets of a nested key are now encoded (`a[b][]` becomes `a%5Bb%5D[]`, which `qs.parse` reads identically), and with `encodeDotInKeys`, a dot in the key becomes `%252E` instead of `%2E` (which `decodeDotInKeys` previously misread as nesting).\n\n\n\n### Affected versions\n\n\n\n`>=6.12.0 <6.17.0`, fixed in v6.17.0.\n\n\n\n`allowEmptyArrays` was introduced in f22b2bc and first shipped in v6.12.0, with this early return. Every release from v6.12.0 through v6.16.1 is affected. Earlier versions have no `allowEmptyArrays` option and are not affected.\n\n\n\n### Impact\n\n\n\nAn application that passes an object whose key names come from untrusted input to `qs.stringify` with `allowEmptyArrays: true` (for example, to forward a parsed JSON body or user-selected fields to an upstream service) can have parameters injected into the resulting query string. The injected parameters are not keys of the object, so deleting or overwriting a key on the object (such as setting a trusted `apiKey` after copying the user's fields) does not remove them; whether the attacker's value or the application's wins depends on how the receiving side handles a duplicate parameter. A `#` in such a key ends the query string early when the result is placed in a URL. `allowEmptyArrays` is off by default, and only keys whose value (after any `filter`) is an empty array are affected.","categories":["Unclassified"],"product":"qs","vendor":"ljharb","ecosystem":null,"affected_ranges":[{"source":"CVE List","source_url":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-110910","source_modified_at":"2026-10-27T06:43:13.416Z","fetched_at":"2026-10-27T10:24:27.527526Z","product":"qs","vendor":"ljharb","versions":[{"status":"affected","version":"6.12.0","lessThan":"6.17.0","versionType":"semver"}],"defaultStatus":"unaffected"}],"fixed_versions":[{"source":"CVE List","source_url":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-110910","source_modified_at":"2026-10-27T06:43:13.416Z","fetched_at":"2026-10-27T10:24:27.527526Z","package":{"name":"qs","ecosystem":null},"version":"6.17.0","basis":"first unaffected version stated in the CVE record"}],"cvss":3.7,"severity":"Low","kev":{"listed":false},"epss":{"probability":null,"percentile":null,"score_date":null},"published_at":"2026-10-27T06:42:42.365Z","modified_at":"2026-10-27T06:43:13.416Z","provenance":[{"source":"CVE List","url":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-110910","fetched_at":"2026-10-27T10:24:27.527526Z","source_modified_at":"2026-10-27T06:43:13.416Z"}],"sources":["CVE List"],"references":[{"source":"CVE List","url":"https://github.com/ljharb/qs/security/advisories/GHSA-w4cr-vjpx-p82q","tags":["vendor-advisory"]},{"source":"CVE List","url":"https://github.com/ljharb/qs/commit/234d5051f5071efaa025a7ca9e4d34a56a460a1b","tags":["patch"]},{"source":"CVE List","url":"https://github.com/ljharb/qs/pull/561","tags":["patch"]},{"source":"CVE List","url":"https://github.com/ljharb/qs/issues/626","tags":["issue-tracking"]}],"locations":[],"motoko_assessment":{"status":"requires_architecture_review","automatic_remediation":false},"cve_state":"PUBLISHED","cvss_source":"CVE List","classification":{"method":"product-first software-layer rules","rules_version":"2.1","matched_on":null,"confidence":"unknown","reviewed":false},"change_timestamp":"2026-10-27T06:43:13.416Z","content_hash":"bcc19d58f24f20fe05f197bbdc5daec8b333250842d757ac0c8bcc27ff91021b"}}