Summary
Workarounds
Pre or post validate headers looking for duplicates.
Resources
Impact
The two parsers resolved duplicates inconsistently and silently:
Content.disposition()retained the last occurrence of each parameter.Content.type()retained the first occurrence of charset and boundary.
Either behavior creates a parameter-smuggling primitive when another component in the request-processing chain (a WAF, reverse proxy, security filter, or alternate parser) resolves duplicates the opposite way. The primary attack vector is upload filename allowlist bypass:
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="file"; filename="safe.txt"; filename="shell.php"
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
Remediation advice
The issue has been patched in 6.0.2.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2026-44974? CVE-2026-44974 is a high-severity security vulnerability in @hapi/content (npm), affecting versions < 6.0.2. It is fixed in 6.0.2.
- Which versions of @hapi/content are affected by CVE-2026-44974? @hapi/content (npm) versions < 6.0.2 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2026-44974? Yes. CVE-2026-44974 is fixed in 6.0.2. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2026-44974 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-44974 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2026-44974 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
- How do I fix CVE-2026-44974? Upgrade
@hapi/contentto 6.0.2 or later.