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SCA: security update for qs (GHSA-q8mj-m7cp-5q26)

medium Tenable Self-Hosted Container Security Plugin ID 442333

Description

There are packages installed that are affected by a vulnerability referenced in the following CVE:

 - ### Summary `qs.stringify` throws `TypeError` when called with `arrayFormat: 'comma'` and
 `encodeValuesOnly: true` on an array containing `null` or `undefined`. The throw is synchronous and not
 handled by any of qs's null-related options (`skipNulls`, `strictNullHandling`). ### Details In the comma
 + `encodeValuesOnly` branch, `lib/stringify.js:145` mapped the array through the raw encoder before
 joining: ```js obj = utils.maybeMap(obj, encoder); ``` `utils.encode` (`lib/utils.js:195`) reads
 `str.length` with no null guard, so a `null` or `undefined` element throws `TypeError`. `skipNulls` and
 `strictNullHandling` are both checked in the per-element loop below this line and never get a chance to
 run. Same class of bug as the filter-array path fixed in 0c180a4. The vulnerable shape of the comma +
 `encodeValuesOnly` branch was introduced in 4c4b23d ("encode comma values more consistently", PR #463,
 2023-01-19), first released in v6.11.1. #### PoC ```js const qs = require('qs'); qs.stringify({ a: [null,
 'b'] }, { arrayFormat: 'comma', encodeValuesOnly: true }); qs.stringify({ a: [undefined, 'b'] }, {
 arrayFormat: 'comma', encodeValuesOnly: true }); qs.stringify({ a: [null] }, { arrayFormat: 'comma',
 encodeValuesOnly: true }); // TypeError: Cannot read properties of null (reading 'length') // at encode
 (lib/utils.js:195:13) // at Object.maybeMap (lib/utils.js:322:37) // at stringify
 (lib/stringify.js:145:25) ``` #### Fix `lib/stringify.js:145`, applied in 21f80b3 on `main` and released
 as v6.15.2: ```diff - obj = utils.maybeMap(obj, encoder); + obj = utils.maybeMap(obj, function (v) { +
 return v == null ? v : encoder(v); + }); ``` `null` and `undefined` now pass through `maybeMap` unchanged
 and reach the `join(',')` step as-is. For `{ a: [null, 'b'] }` this produces `a=,b`, matching the
 non-`encodeValuesOnly` comma path (which already joins before encoding and produces `a=%2Cb` for the same
 input). Single-element `[null]` arrays still collapse via the existing `obj.join(',') || null` and remain
 subject to `skipNulls` / `strictNullHandling` in the main loop. ### Affected versions `>=6.11.1 <6.15.2` —
 fixed in v6.15.2. The vulnerable code shape was introduced in 4c4b23d and first shipped in v6.11.1.
 Earlier versions — including all of 6.7.x, 6.8.x, 6.9.x, 6.10.x, and 6.11.0 — implemented the comma +
 `encodeValuesOnly` path differently (joining before encoding) and are not affected. Empirically verified
 across released versions. ### Impact Application code that calls `qs.stringify` with both `arrayFormat:
 'comma'` and `encodeValuesOnly: true` (both non-default) on input that may contain a `null` or `undefined`
 array element will throw synchronously instead of producing a query string. In a typical Node.js HTTP
 framework (Express, Fastify, Koa, hapi) the sync throw is caught by the framework's error boundary and the
 affected request returns a 500; the worker process does not exit and subsequent requests are unaffected.
 The "kills the worker process" framing applies only to call sites outside a request-handler error boundary
 (background jobs, startup paths, stream pipelines) or to deployments with framework error handling
 explicitly disabled. The vulnerable input is a `null` or `undefined` entry inside an array; this is
 reachable from JSON request bodies or from application code constructing arrays from user input, but not
 from standard HTML form submissions (which produce strings or omitted fields, not literal `null`).
 (CVE-2026-8723)

Solution

Update the qs library and its related packages to version 6.15.2 or later.

See Also

https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-q8mj-m7cp-5q26

Plugin Details

Severity: Medium

ID: 442333

Version: Revision 1.4

Type: Local

Family: SCA Checks

Published: 5/25/2026

Updated: 7/2/2026

Supported Sensors: Tenable Cloud Security, Tenable Self-Hosted Container Security

Risk Information

VPR

Risk Factor: Low

Score: 1.2

Percentile: 0.01

Vendor

Vendor Severity: Medium

CVSS v2

Risk Factor: Medium

Base Score: 5

Temporal Score: 3.7

Vector: CVSS2#AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P

CVSS Score Source: CVE-2026-8723

CVSS v3

Risk Factor: Medium

Base Score: 5.3

Temporal Score: 4.6

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L

Temporal Vector: CVSS:3.0/E:U/RL:O/RC:C

CVSS v4

Risk Factor: Medium

Base Score: 6.3

Threat Score: 1.7

Threat Vector: CVSS:4.0/E:U

Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Vulnerability Information

Exploit Ease: No known exploits are available

Patch Publication Date: 5/22/2026

Vulnerability Publication Date: 5/16/2026

Reference Information

CVE: CVE-2026-8723

cwe: CWE-476