CVE-2026-40895
follow-redirects: Custom Authentication Headers Leaked to Cross-Domain Redirect Targets
Description
follow-redirects is an open source, drop-in replacement for Node's `http` and `https` modules that automatically follows redirects. Prior to 1.16.0, when an HTTP request follows a cross-domain redirect (301/302/307/308), follow-redirects only strips authorization, proxy-authorization, and cookie headers (matched by regex at index.js). Any custom authentication header (e.g., X-API-Key, X-Auth-Token, Api-Key, Token) is forwarded verbatim to the redirect target. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.16.0.
INFO
Published Date :
April 21, 2026, 9:16 p.m.
Last Modified :
April 21, 2026, 9:16 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
Yes !
Source :
[email protected]
Affected Products
The following products are affected by CVE-2026-40895
vulnerability.
Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the
products
that
are
affected, the information is not represented in the table below.
No affected product recoded yet
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 4.0 | MEDIUM | [email protected] |
Solution
- Update the follow-redirects library to version 1.16.0 or later.
- Ensure custom authentication headers are not forwarded on redirects.
- Review library configurations for sensitive data handling.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2026-40895.
| URL | Resource |
|---|---|
| https://github.com/follow-redirects/follow-redirects/security/advisories/GHSA-r4q5-vmmm-2653 |
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-40895 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-40895
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2026-40895 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-40895 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
-
New CVE Received by [email protected]
Apr. 21, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Description follow-redirects is an open source, drop-in replacement for Node's `http` and `https` modules that automatically follows redirects. Prior to 1.16.0, when an HTTP request follows a cross-domain redirect (301/302/307/308), follow-redirects only strips authorization, proxy-authorization, and cookie headers (matched by regex at index.js). Any custom authentication header (e.g., X-API-Key, X-Auth-Token, Api-Key, Token) is forwarded verbatim to the redirect target. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.16.0. Added CVSS V4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X Added CWE CWE-200 Added Reference https://github.com/follow-redirects/follow-redirects/security/advisories/GHSA-r4q5-vmmm-2653