CVE-2025-3193 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) CWE-1321 vulnerability in algoliasearch-helper. A fix is available for algoliasearch-helper — see the affected versions and patch details below.
algoliasearch-helper is vulnerable to Prototype Pollution in _merge()
Exploitation Status
Proof-of-concept exploit code exists
- CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2025-3193.
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-2025-3193 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.
algoliasearch-helpernpmDescription
Versions of the package algoliasearch-helper from 2.0.0-rc1 and before 3.11.2 are vulnerable to Prototype Pollution in the _merge() function in merge.js, which allows constructor.prototype to be written even though doing so throws an error. In the "extreme edge-case" that the resulting error is caught, code injected into the user-supplied search parameter may be exeucted.
This is related to but distinct from the issue reported in CVE-2021-23433.
NOTE: This vulnerability is not exploitable in the default configuration of InstantSearch since searchParameters are not modifiable by users.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | algoliasearch-helper | ≥ 2.0.0-rc1&&< 3.11.2 | 3.11.2npm install algoliasearch-helper@3.11.2 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for algoliasearch-helper, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update algoliasearch-helper to 3.11.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2025-3193 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-2025-3193 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2025-3193. 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-2025-3193 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2025-3193 across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.