GHSA-529q-4j3p-7c5r is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.9) 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 GHSA-529q-4j3p-7c5r.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
GHSA-529q-4j3p-7c5r by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 379,842 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.
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 |
Affected Products
algoliasearch-helperalgoliaDetection & 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 GHSA-529q-4j3p-7c5r 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.
Fixing This On Your OS
If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.
Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base or stability.Source: Red Hat security advisory for GHSA-529q-4j3p-7c5r (CC BY 4.0)
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-529q-4j3p-7c5r in your dependencies?
Find it across npm, including transitive dependencies.