# CVE-2024-29041: Express.js open redirect in malformed URLs

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2024-29041-express-js-open-redirect-in-malformed-urls  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2024-03-25. Updated: 2026-09-25  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2024-29041 · Severity: low · CVSS 3.1 · Published 2024-03-25

Express.js is a widely-used web application framework for Node.js. Applications using Express redirect functions with user-provided URLs can be tricked into redirecting users to attacker-controlled websites, bypassing security controls. An attacker can exploit this by crafting a malformed URL that passes validation checks, potentially leading to credential theft, malware distribution, or phishing attacks.

Technologies: [Express](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/npm-express).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2024-29041 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2024-29041 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2024-29041?** Low severity, with a CVSS score of 3.1, published 25 March 2024.

**Which products and versions are affected?** Express SEMVER:introduced=0,fixed=4.19.2.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2024-29041?** Yes. Express: upgrade to 4.19.2 or later. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

**How is CVE-2024-29041 attacked?** It is attacked over the network.

**Am I affected by CVE-2024-29041?** Check whether you run Express at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## How to fix

- Express: upgrade to 4.19.2 or later

## Technical details

This is an open redirect vulnerability (CWE-601, CWE-1286) affecting the res.location() and res.redirect() methods in Express.js versions prior to 4.19.2 and 5.0.0-beta.3. The vulnerability exists because Express encodes user-provided URLs using encodeurl before adding them to the location header, but this encoding can cause malformed URLs to be evaluated unexpectedly by redirect allowlist implementations. An attacker can craft a specially-formatted URL that bypasses the application's allow-list checks, causing legitimate users (who must click a link) to be redirected to an attacker-controlled site. The fix involves pre-parsing URLs using Node.js built-in URL parsing (require('node:url').parse or new URL) before passing them to the redirect functions. Patches are available in Express 4.19.2 and 5.0.0-beta.3.

## Affected products

- Express.js Express <4.19.2, >=5.0.0-alpha.1 <5.0.0-beta.3

## Identifiers

- CVE-2024-29041
- GHSA-rv95-896h-c2vc

## Timeline

- 2024-03-25: disclosed: Vulnerability published in GHSA-rv95-896h-c2vc
- 2024-03-25: patched: Express 4.19.2 and 5.0.0-beta.3 released with fixes

## References

- [https://github.com/expressjs/express/security/advisories/GHSA-rv95-896h-c2vc](https://github.com/expressjs/express/security/advisories/GHSA-rv95-896h-c2vc)

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- [Express resource injection in Link header](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2024-10491-express-resource-injection-in-link-header)
- [Express open redirect vulnerability](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2024-9266-express-open-redirect-vulnerability)
- [Express XSS via response.redirect()](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2024-43796-express-xss-via-response-redirect)
- [Express missing charset in Content-Type header XSS](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2014-6393-express-missing-charset-in-content-type-header-xss)