CVE-2026-18248

CVE-2026-18248 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Fastify Fastify/aws-lambda with a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.1. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-345.

Key facts

Description

@fastify/aws-lambda version 6.4.0 decorates each Fastify request with request.awsLambda.event and request.awsLambda.context, values that applications are documented to use for authorization decisions such as reading API Gateway authorizer claims. In the default configuration, the getter that populates this decoration reads the client-controlled x-apigateway-event and x-apigateway-context HTTP headers before falling back to the trusted internal request token, and those reserved headers are not stripped from the incoming event. An unauthenticated attacker who can set a single HTTP header can therefore forge the entire Lambda proxy event, including the authorizer context, and override the genuine one. This results in a full authentication and authorization bypass and privilege escalation for any application that trusts request.awsLambda.event for identity or access control. Only version 6.4.0 is affected. Patches: upgrade to @fastify/aws-lambda 6.4.1, which resolves the decoration only through the internal per-invocation token and strips the reserved headers before the request is processed.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-18248?
@fastify/aws-lambda version 6.4.0 decorates each Fastify request with request.awsLambda.event and request.awsLambda.context, values that applications are documented to use for authorization decisions such as reading API Gateway authorizer claims. In the default configuration, the getter that populates this decoration reads the client-controlled x-apigateway-event and x-apigateway-context HTTP headers before falling back to the trusted internal request token, and those reserved headers are not stripped from the incoming event. An unauthenticated attacker who can set a single HTTP header can therefore forge the entire Lambda proxy event, including the authorizer context, and override the genuine one. This results in a full authentication and authorization bypass and privilege escalation for any application that trusts request.awsLambda.event for identity or access control. Only version 6.4.0 is affected. Patches: upgrade to @fastify/aws-lambda 6.4.1, which resolves the decoration only through the internal per-invocation token and strips the reserved headers before the request is processed.
How severe is CVE-2026-18248?
CVE-2026-18248 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.1, rated critical severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability none.
Is CVE-2026-18248 being actively exploited?
It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (30th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2026-18248?
CVE-2026-18248 affects Fastify Fastify/aws-lambda. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2026-18248?
Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2026-18248 published?
CVE-2026-18248 was published on 2026-08-03 and last updated on 2026-09-04.

References

Affected products (1)

Other CWE-345 (Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity) vulnerabilities

Browse all CWE-345 (Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity) vulnerabilities →