GHSA-jp4x-w63m-7wgm is a high-severity (CVSS 8.8) CWE-471 vulnerability in hoek. 2 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for hoek — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Prototype Pollution in hoek
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-jp4x-w63m-7wgm 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 377,166 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, a proxy for how much of the ecosystem is exposed.
hoeknpmDescription
Versions of hoek prior to 4.2.1 and 5.0.3 are vulnerable to prototype pollution.
The merge function, and the applyToDefaults and applyToDefaultsWithShallow functions which leverage merge behind the scenes, are vulnerable to a prototype pollution attack when provided an unvalidated payload created from a JSON string containing the __proto__ property.
This can be demonstrated like so:
var Hoek = require('hoek');
var malicious_payload = '{"__proto__":{"oops":"It works !"}}';
var a = {};
console.log("Before : " + a.oops);
Hoek.merge({}, JSON.parse(malicious_payload));
console.log("After : " + a.oops);
This type of attack can be used to overwrite existing properties causing a potential denial of service.
Recommendation
Update to version 4.2.1, 5.0.3 or later.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | hoek | ≥ 5.0.0&&< 5.0.3 | 5.0.3npm install hoek@5.0.3 |
| 📦npm | hoek | all versions | 4.2.1npm install hoek@4.2.1 |
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 hoek, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update hoek to 5.0.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-jp4x-w63m-7wgm 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-jp4x-w63m-7wgm can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-jp4x-w63m-7wgm. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
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.
Red Hat Quay includes hoek as a dependency of protractor which is only used at build time. The vulnerable library is not used at runtime meaning this has a low impact on Red Hat Quay.
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Mobile Application Platform 4.6 | fh-system-dump-tool-0:1.0.0-5.el7 | RHSA-2018:1263 |
| Red Hat Mobile Application Platform 4.6 | rhmap46/fh-aaa:1.1.3-4 | RHSA-2018:1264 |
| Red Hat Quay 3 | quay/quay-rhel8:v3.6.0-62 | RHSA-2021:3917 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-jp4x-w63m-7wgm in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-jp4x-w63m-7wgm across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.