CVE-2026-73562 is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.5) CWE-1321 vulnerability in mongoose. A fix is available for mongoose — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Mongoose: Prototype pollution in the update casting via __proto__-prefixed dotted path (Schema._getSchema/path getter)
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2026-73562.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2026-73562 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 385,738 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.
mongoosenpmDescription
Impact
What kind of vulnerability is it? Who is impacted?
Prototype pollution in update casting: passing a user-controlled update to a Mongoose update, like MyModel.updateOne(filter, req.body), can cause Mongoose to set $fullPath and $parentSchemaDocArray on Object.prototype.
Example:
const mongoose = require('mongoose');
console.log('before:', Object.prototype.$fullPath); // undefined
const User = mongoose.model('User', new mongoose.Schema({ name: String }));
const malicious = JSON.parse('{"$set": {"__proto__.x": "anything"}}'); // attacker-controlled update
const q = User.updateOne({}, {});
try { q._castUpdate(malicious); } catch (e) { /* throws AFTER the pollution side-effect */ }
console.log('after :', Object.prototype.$fullPath); // "__proto__"
console.log('enumerable:', Object.prototype.propertyIsEnumerable('$fullPath')); // true
console.log('fresh {}:', ({}).$fullPath); // "__proto__"
Patches
Has the problem been patched? What versions should users upgrade to?
9.7.2, 8.24.1. 7.8.10, 6.13.10
Workarounds
Is there a way for users to fix or remediate the vulnerability without upgrading?
Check user-controlled updates for own __proto__ properties before passing to Mongoose
References
Are there any links users can visit to find out more?
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | mongoose | all versions | 6.13.10npm install mongoose@6.13.10 |
| 📦npm | mongoose | ≥ 7.0.0&&< 7.8.10 | 7.8.10npm install mongoose@7.8.10 |
| 📦npm | mongoose | ≥ 8.0.0&&< 8.24.1 | 8.24.1npm install mongoose@8.24.1 |
| 📦npm | mongoose | ≥ 9.0.0&&< 9.7.2 | 9.7.2npm install mongoose@9.7.2 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for mongoose, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update mongoose to 6.13.10 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-73562 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2026-73562 in your dependencies?
Find it across npm, including transitive dependencies.