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CRITICAL

CVE-2021-23438

CVSS v3

9.8

CRITICAL

EPSS Score

1.7 %

exploit probability, as of 2026-09-25

CISA KEV

No

known exploited

Exploitation

—

SSVC status

Description

This affects the package mpath before 0.8.4. A type confusion vulnerability can lead to a bypass of CVE-2018-16490. In particular, the condition ignoreProperties.indexOf(parts[i]) !== -1 returns -1 if parts[i] is ['__proto__']. This is because the method that has been called if the input is an array is Array.prototype.indexOf() and not String.prototype.indexOf(). They behave differently depending on the type of the input.

Technical details

Published
2021-09-01

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-23438?

This affects the package mpath before 0.8.4. A type confusion vulnerability can lead to a bypass of CVE-2018-16490. In particular, the condition ignoreProperties.indexOf(parts[i]) !== -1 returns -1 if parts[i] is ['__proto__']. This is because the method that has been called if the input is an array is Array.prototype.indexOf() and not String.prototype.indexOf(). They behave differently depending on the type of the input.

Is CVE-2021-23438 actively exploited?

Active exploitation of CVE-2021-23438 has not been confirmed. Its EPSS score was 1.7% on 2026-09-25, the estimated probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2021-23438?

CVE-2021-23438 has a CVSS v3 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL severity).

Is CVE-2021-23438 affecting your environment?

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