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undici vulnerable to TLS certificate validation bypass via dropped connect options in BalancedPool

High severity GitHub Reviewed Published Sep 4, 2026 in nodejs/undici • Updated Sep 29, 2026

Package

npm undici (npm)

Affected versions

>= 7.24.1, < 7.29.1
>= 8.0.0, < 8.10.2

Patched versions

7.29.1
8.10.2

Description

Impact

undici's BalancedPool passes its constructor options through a JSON-based deep clone (JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(...))) before forwarding them to each per-upstream Pool. JSON cannot represent functions, so a caller-supplied connect or tls option containing a checkServerIdentity callback (or a custom connector function) is silently dropped before it reaches the TLS layer. As a result, a TLS peer whose certificate a custom checkServerIdentity was written to reject, but which passes Node's default hostname and chain checks, is silently accepted when the request is made through BalancedPool. Client, Pool, Agent, and RoundRobinPool destructure connect/tls before the clone and are not affected. Only applications that use BalancedPool with a function-valued connect/tls option (such as a custom checkServerIdentity or connector) are affected.

Patches

Upgrade to 7.29.1 or 8.10.2. BalancedPool now preserves the connect and tls options outside the JSON clone, so custom TLS verification callbacks are forwarded to each upstream unchanged.

Workarounds

Use Client, Pool, or Agent instead of BalancedPool for connections that rely on a custom checkServerIdentity or connector, until upgraded.

References

@mcollina mcollina published to nodejs/undici Sep 4, 2026
Published by the National Vulnerability Database Sep 4, 2026
Published to the GitHub Advisory Database Sep 29, 2026
Reviewed Sep 29, 2026
Last updated Sep 29, 2026

Severity

High

CVSS overall score

This score calculates overall vulnerability severity from 0 to 10 and is based on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS).
/ 10

CVSS v3 base metrics

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
High
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS v3 base metrics

Attack vector: More severe the more the remote (logically and physically) an attacker can be in order to exploit the vulnerability.
Attack complexity: More severe for the least complex attacks.
Privileges required: More severe if no privileges are required.
User interaction: More severe when no user interaction is required.
Scope: More severe when a scope change occurs, e.g. one vulnerable component impacts resources in components beyond its security scope.
Confidentiality: More severe when loss of data confidentiality is highest, measuring the level of data access available to an unauthorized user.
Integrity: More severe when loss of data integrity is the highest, measuring the consequence of data modification possible by an unauthorized user.
Availability: More severe when the loss of impacted component availability is highest.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

EPSS score

Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS)

This score estimates the probability of this vulnerability being exploited within the next 30 days. Data provided by FIRST.
(3rd percentile)

Weaknesses

Improper Certificate Validation

The product does not validate, or incorrectly validates, a certificate. Learn more on MITRE.

CVE ID

CVE-2026-84961

GHSA ID

GHSA-w293-vg96-wgc3

Source code

Credits

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