CVE-2026-55500 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.9) Information Exposure vulnerability in 9router. No vendor fix is recorded yet; mitigation options are listed below.
9router: Exposure of Sensitive Information and Unprotected Database Import/Export Allows Complete Credential Theft and Database Takeover
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.
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2026-55500.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2026-55500 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 384,993 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.
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.
9routernpmDescription
Summary
The /api/settings/database endpoint allows full database export (containing all credentials, API keys, OAuth tokens, and settings) and full database import (complete overwrite) without any authentication requirement beyond the ALWAYS_PROTECTED middleware check, which only validates JWT or CLI token. Combined with other vulnerabilities (e.g., default password, tunnel exposure), this enables complete database takeover.
Description
The endpoint /api/settings/database is listed in ALWAYS_PROTECTED in dashboardGuard.js (line 42), which requires a valid JWT token or CLI token. However, this protection is insufficient because:
-
GET (Export): Returns the complete database including API keys (
keyfield inapiKeystable), OAuth tokens, and all provider credentials. Line 80 insrc/lib/db/index.js:apiKeys: db.all("SELECT * FROM apiKeys").map(...)— thekeyfield contains the plaintext API key value. -
POST (Import): Accepts arbitrary JSON and performs a complete database wipe-and-replace in a transaction (lines 102-163 in
src/lib/db/index.js). This replaces all settings including the password hash, effectively allowing an attacker to set their own password. -
The exported data includes
apiKeyswith their plaintextkeyvalues,providerConnectionswith all OAuth tokens, andsettingswith OIDC client secrets.
Evidence
File: src/app/api/settings/database/route.js
export async function GET() {
const payload = await exportDb();
return NextResponse.json(payload);
}
export async function POST(request) {
const payload = await request.json();
await importDb(payload);
// ...
}
File: src/lib/db/index.js (lines 96-163)
export async function importDb(payload) {
db.transaction(() => {
// Wipe all tables
db.run(`DELETE FROM settings`);
db.run(`DELETE FROM providerConnections`);
db.run(`DELETE FROM providerNodes`);
db.run(`DELETE FROM proxyPools`);
db.run(`DELETE FROM apiKeys`);
db.run(`DELETE FROM combos`);
db.run(`DELETE FROM kv WHERE scope IN (...)`);
// Then insert attacker-controlled data
// ...
});
}
The exportDb function at line 80 exposes API key plaintext:
apiKeys: db.all(`SELECT * FROM apiKeys`).map((r) => ({
id: r.id, key: r.key, name: r.name, ...
})),
Steps to Reproduce
- Authenticate with any valid JWT (e.g., using the default password "123456")
- Export:
curl -b auth_token=<jwt> http://localhost:20128/api/settings/database - Observe: Full database dump with all credentials in plaintext
- Import malicious data:
curl -X POST -b auth_token=<jwt> -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '<modified-db>' http://localhost:20128/api/settings/database - All settings, passwords, API keys are now replaced with attacker-controlled values
Impact
- Confidentiality: Complete exposure of all stored secrets (API keys, OAuth tokens, OIDC client secrets)
- Integrity: Complete database replacement with attacker-controlled data
- Availability: Database wipe is possible by importing an empty database
- Scope Changed: Importing new settings affects all users and downstream services
Recommended Fix
- Require re-authentication for database export/import (not just an existing session)
- Mask/redact API keys in export (or require explicit opt-in for key export)
- Add confirmation step for import (require current password verification)
- Implement database backup before import
- Log all export/import operations with audit trail
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | 9router | all versions | No fix |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for 9router, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Remediation status
No patched version of 9router has shipped for CVE-2026-55500 yet. Where your build allows, override or pin the dependency away from the vulnerable range, and apply any maintainer-recommended mitigation.
Mitigate without a patch
Assume what was exposed is already known: rotate any credential, token or key that the affected component could return, restrict the endpoint to callers that genuinely need it, and strip sensitive fields from responses and error output at the boundary rather than relying on the client not to read them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2026-55500 in your dependencies?
Find it across npm, including transitive dependencies.