CVE-2022-21189 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.3) CWE-1321 vulnerability in dexie. 2 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for dexie — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Prototype Pollution
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-2022-21189 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 377,636 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, and reverse-dependency count shows how many other packages break if it stays unpatched.
dexienpmDescription
Dexie is a minimalistic wrapper for IndexedDB. The package dexie before 3.2.2, from 4.0.0-alpha.1 and before 4.0.0-alpha.3 are vulnerable to Prototype Pollution in the Dexie.setByKeyPath(obj, keyPath, value) function which does not properly check the keys being set (like proto or constructor). This can allow an attacker to add/modify properties of the Object.prototype leading to prototype pollution vulnerability. Note: This vulnerability can occur in multiple ways, for example when modifying a collection with untrusted user input.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | dexie | all versions | 3.2.2npm install dexie@3.2.2 |
| 📦npm | dexie | ≥ 4.0.0-alpha.1&&< 4.0.0-alpha.3 | 4.0.0-alpha.3npm install dexie@4.0.0-alpha.3 |
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 dexie, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update dexie to 3.2.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-21189 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-2022-21189 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2022-21189. 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-2022-21189 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2022-21189 across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.