GHSA-h755-8qp9-cq85 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) CWE-1321 vulnerability in protobufjs. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for protobufjs — see the affected versions and patch details below.
protobufjs Prototype Pollution vulnerability
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- 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 GHSA-h755-8qp9-cq85.
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
GHSA-h755-8qp9-cq85 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 377,238 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.
protobufjsnpmDescription
protobuf.js (aka protobufjs) 6.10.0 until 6.11.4 and 7.0.0 until 7.2.4 allows Prototype Pollution, a different vulnerability than CVE-2022-25878. A user-controlled protobuf message can be used by an attacker to pollute the prototype of Object.prototype by adding and overwriting its data and functions. Exploitation can involve: (1) using the function parse to parse protobuf messages on the fly, (2) loading .proto files by using load/loadSync functions, or (3) providing untrusted input to the functions ReflectionObject.setParsedOption and util.setProperty. NOTE: this CVE Record is about Object.constructor.prototype.<new-property> = ...; whereas CVE-2022-25878 was about Object.__proto__.<new-property> = ...; instead.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | protobufjs | ≥ 7.0.0&&< 7.2.5 | 7.2.5npm install protobufjs@7.2.5 |
| 📦npm | protobufjs | ≥ 6.10.0&&< 6.11.4 | 6.11.4npm install protobufjs@6.11.4 |
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 protobufjs, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update protobufjs to 7.2.5 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-h755-8qp9-cq85 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 GHSA-h755-8qp9-cq85 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-h755-8qp9-cq85. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-h755-8qp9-cq85 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-h755-8qp9-cq85 across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.