CVE-2025-61140
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2025-61140 is a prototype pollution vulnerability in jsonpath 1.1.1 that allows attackers to modify object prototypes, potentially leading to remote code execution or denial of service. This affects any application using the vulnerable jsonpath library version. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it can be exploited through user-controlled JSON input.
💻 Affected Systems
- jsonpath library
📦 What is this software?
Jsonpath by Dchester
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Remote code execution leading to complete system compromise, data theft, or ransomware deployment.
Likely Case
Denial of service, application crashes, or privilege escalation within the affected application.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper input validation and sandboxing, potentially causing only application instability.
🎯 Exploit Status
Proof of concept available in the GitHub gist reference. Exploitation requires user-controlled JSON input to the vulnerable function.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 1.1.2 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/dchester/jsonpath
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Update jsonpath dependency to version 1.1.2 or later. 2. Run 'npm update jsonpath' or update package.json. 3. Restart all affected applications. 4. Test functionality after update.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Input validation and sanitization
allImplement strict input validation to reject malicious JSON structures before they reach the jsonpath parser.
Object.freeze on prototypes
allFreeze Object.prototype and other critical prototypes to prevent pollution.
Object.freeze(Object.prototype);
Object.freeze(Object);
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict input validation and sanitization for all JSON inputs
- Use web application firewalls (WAF) with JSON payload inspection rules
- Isolate affected applications in network segments with limited access
- Monitor for unusual application behavior or crashes
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check package.json or run 'npm list jsonpath' to see if version 1.1.1 is installed. Review code for jsonpath usage with user input.Check Version:
npm list jsonpath | grep jsonpathVerify Fix Applied:
Run 'npm list jsonpath' to confirm version is 1.1.2 or later. Test application functionality with valid JSON inputs.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Application crashes or unexpected behavior when processing JSON
- Unusual error messages related to object prototypes or JSON parsing
- High CPU/memory usage during JSON processing
Network Indicators:
- Unusual JSON payloads in HTTP requests
- Multiple requests with malformed JSON structures
- Requests to endpoints that process JSON data
SIEM Query:
source="web_server" AND (message="*prototype*" OR message="*jsonpath*" OR message="*unexpected token*")