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VulnerabilityPublished Updated

CVE-2020-36604: hoek · Prototype Pollution

Source CVE Database V5

0

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 8.1 High : upgrade to 9.0.3 or 8.5.1 soon.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 14:05 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score
8.1High
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.
EPSS
1.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 68% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch
Available – fixed in 9.0.3, 8.5.1
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 23 Sep 2022

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponised: no evidence on record.

    No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB

  4. Exploited in the wild: no evidence on record.

    Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation

  5. Observed by OffSeq Mirage: no evidence on record.

    No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

What to do

Upgrade hoek to 9.0.3 or 8.5.1.

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
npmhoekpkg:npm/hoekOther threatsAffected
  • <8.5.1
  • >=9.0.0 <9.0.3
Fixed in
  • 8.5.1
  • 9.0.3

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

European organizations should undertake a comprehensive software supply chain audit to identify all instances of the 'hoek' library within their environments, including direct and transitive dependencies. Automated dependency scanning tools such as npm audit, Snyk, or OWASP Dependency-Check should be employed to detect vulnerable versions. Immediate upgrading to 'hoek' version 8.5.1 or 9.0.3 and above is critical. Where upgrading is not immediately feasible, organizations should implement runtime protections such as input validation and sanitization to prevent malicious prototype pollution payloads. Employing application-level security controls like Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with rules targeting prototype pollution patterns can provide additional defense. Monitoring application logs and behavior for anomalies indicative of prototype pollution exploitation attempts is recommended. Furthermore, organizations should integrate this vulnerability into their patch management and incident response processes, ensuring rapid deployment of fixes and readiness to respond to potential exploitation. Finally, educating developers about secure coding practices related to object manipulation in JavaScript can reduce future risks.

Description

hoek before 8.5.1 and 9.x before 9.0.3 allows prototype poisoning in the clone function.

References

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