VulnerabilityPublished 26 May 2026Updated 1 Jun 2026

CVE-2026-44966: shepherdwind velocity.js · Prototype Pollution

Affects shepherdwind velocity.jsSource CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 8.3 High.

Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 11:52 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

8.3High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.5% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 45% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Changed
Confidentiality: Low
Integrity: Low
Availability: Low

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Changed: An exploited vulnerability can affect resources beyond the security scope managed by the security authority of the vulnerable component. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are different and managed by different security authorities.
Confidentiality: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the impacted component.
Integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact on the impacted component.
Availability: Low: Performance is reduced or there are interruptions in resource availability. Even if repeated exploitation of the vulnerability is possible, the attacker does not have the ability to completely deny service to legitimate users. The resources in the impacted component are either partially available all of the time, or fully available only some of the time, but overall there is no direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 26 May 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by 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 30 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
shepherdwindvelocity.js	Affected <=2.1.5	Fixed in–
npmshepherdwind/velocity.js`pkg:npm/shepherdwind/velocity.js`Other threats	Affected <=2.1.5	Fixed in–

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

AI-suggested

Until an official fix is released, avoid rendering Velocity templates from untrusted sources to prevent exploitation. Monitor shepherdwind project communications for updates on patches or mitigations.

Description

Velocity.js is a JavaScript implementation of the Apache Velocity template engine. In 2.1.5 and earlier, a prototype pollution vulnerability was discovered in velocityjs. This issue occurs during the processing of #set directives in Velocity templates. If an application renders a template controlled by an attacker, it is possible to modify Object.prototype, potentially leading to Denial of Service (DoS) or Remote Code Execution (RCE) depending on the server environment.

Impact

An attacker able to supply malicious Velocity templates can exploit this vulnerability to perform prototype pollution, potentially causing Denial of Service or Remote Code Execution on the server running velocity.js. This compromises confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected system. The severity is high given the CVSS score of 8.3. No known exploits in the wild have been reported so far.

Summary

CVE-2026-44966 is a prototype pollution vulnerability in shepherdwind's velocity.js (<= 2.1.5). The issue arises during the handling of #set directives in Velocity templates, enabling an attacker who can control template content to modify JavaScript's Object.prototype. This can cause serious impacts such as Denial of Service or Remote Code Execution depending on the server environment. The vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 score of 8.3 (high severity) with network attack vector, low attack complexity, no privileges or user interaction required, and impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

CWE-1321Improperly Controlled Modification of Object Prototype Attributes (Prototype Pollution) (opens in a new tab)
Variant weakness
The product receives input from an upstream component that specifies attributes that are to be initialized or updated in an object, but it does not properly control modifications of attributes of the object prototype.
Implementation
By freezing the object prototype first (for example, Object.freeze(Object.prototype)), modification of the prototype becomes impossible.
Architecture and Design
By blocking modifications of attributes that resolve to object prototype, such as proto or prototype, this weakness can be mitigated.
Implementation · Input Validation
When handling untrusted objects, validating using a schema can be used.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V5.1.2 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Accessing Functionality Not Properly Constrained by ACLs (opens in a new tab)
Exploiting Incorrectly Configured Access Control Security Levels (opens in a new tab)
Manipulating User-Controlled Variables (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

github.com/shepherdwind/velocity.js/security/advisories/GHSA-j658-c2gf-x6pq (opens in a new tab)

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 3 Jun 2026, 20:28 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-1321

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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