Summary
Orval: RCE via OpenAPI path -> unescaped request-URL template literal (backtick breakout)
Orval emits the OpenAPI path into the generated request URL as a TEMPLATE LITERAL (`/users/...`) without escaping the backtick character. A path containing a backtick closes the template literal and injects a concatenation expression that is evaluated when the generated URL/request/key function is called, executing attacker-controlled code. Affects the axios, fetch, react-query, and swr clients. Verified on Orval 8.19.0; survives Orval's default OpenAPI validation.
Details
// generated URL builder (fetch client)
return `/users/` + (globalThis.X = require("fs").writeFileSync("/marker","pwned")) + `/list`;
The backtick in the path terminates the `...` literal; + (<code>) + runs as a live expression; a trailing backtick reopens a template literal so the file stays valid. The code runs whenever the generated request function, URL builder, or query-key function is called.
This is distinct from Orval's four published CVEs: CVE-2026-22785 (summary -> MCP server), CVE-2026-23947 / CVE-2026-25141 (x-enumDescriptions), and CVE-2026-24132 (const -> mock files). This is a different field (the route path) and a different sink (the request-URL template literal), which those advisories and their fixes do not cover.
PoC
reproduce.sh (+ make_spec.py) attached: generates a fetch client with default validation, bundles it, calls the generated functions, and shows a marker file written. Verified on 8.19.0.
Impact
Code execution in any environment that calls a client generated from an attacker-controlled or attacker-influenced OpenAPI description (developer, CI, or the running application).
Untrusted input is evaluated as executable code within the application's runtime environment. Typical impact: arbitrary code execution within the application's privilege context.
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.
Already deployed Kodem?
See it in your environmentNew to Kodem? Get a demo →Remediation advice
Escape the path before emitting it into the URL template literal (escape backtick and ${, or build the URL with an encoder that treats the path as data), and validate path characters.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2026-62681? CVE-2026-62681 is a critical-severity code injection vulnerability in orval (npm), affecting versions < 8.21.0. It is fixed in 8.21.0. Untrusted input is evaluated as executable code within the application's runtime environment.
- Which versions of orval are affected by CVE-2026-62681? orval (npm) versions < 8.21.0 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2026-62681? Yes. CVE-2026-62681 is fixed in 8.21.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2026-62681 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-62681 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-2026-62681 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-2026-62681? Upgrade
orvalto 8.21.0 or later.