CVE-2026-44496: Axios ReDoS via unsanitized XSRF cookie name

CVE-2026-44496 · Severity: high · CVSS 7.5 · Published 2026-06-11

Axios is a widely used library for making web requests in browsers and Node.js applications. A security flaw in how it handles security cookies (XSRF) allows an attacker to freeze a user's browser tab by providing a specially crafted cookie name. This results in a denial-of-service for the user, making the application unresponsive, though it does not expose private data or passwords.

Technologies: Axios, axios (npm). Vendors: Axios, npm.

Quick answers

Is CVE-2026-44496 exploited in the wild?
No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-44496 being exploited in the wild.
How severe is CVE-2026-44496?
High severity, with a CVSS score of 7.5, published 11 June 2026.
Which products and versions are affected?
Axios < 0.32.0, >= 1.0.0 < 1.16.0; axios (npm) SEMVER:introduced=1.0.0,fixed=1.16.0.
Is there a fix for CVE-2026-44496?
Yes. axios (npm): upgrade to 1.16.0 or later. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.
How is CVE-2026-44496 attacked?
It is attacked over the network, in a software library.
Am I affected by CVE-2026-44496?
Check whether you run Axios or axios (npm) 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

  • axios (npm): upgrade to 1.16.0 or later
    npm install axios@1.16.0

Technical details

A Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) vulnerability exists in the `cookies.read()` function within `lib/helpers/cookies.js`. The library constructs a dynamic regular expression using the `xsrfCookieName` configuration value without escaping regex metacharacters. If an attacker can influence this configuration (e.g., via configuration injection or prototype pollution), they can provide a payload with nested quantifiers (like `(.+)+$`) that triggers catastrophic backtracking when matched against `document.cookie`. This issue specifically affects browser-based environments where `document.cookie` is accessed; Node.js, React Native, and Web Workers are generally unaffected. The fix involves replacing dynamic regex construction with string splitting and exact equality checks.

Affected products

  • Axios Axios < 0.32.0, >= 1.0.0 < 1.16.0

Identifiers

  • CVE-2026-44496
  • GHSA-hfxv-24rg-xrqf

Timeline

  • 2026-05-30: advisory: Initial GitHub security advisory published
  • 2026-06-11: disclosed: CVE-2026-44496 published to NVD

References

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