Summary
fastify vulnerable to request body replacement via an async validation result collision
Workarounds
If upgrading is not immediately possible, avoid $async request schemas, or perform the security-sensitive check in an onRequest or preHandler hook rather than relying on the schema-validated request part. Custom async validator compilers should signal failure by throwing (rejecting) rather than returning an { error } object.
Impact
Fastify runs a route's validator and, for a result shaped like { value, error }, unwraps it: an error becomes a validation failure and value replaces the request part. This convention is intended for synchronous custom compilers (for example Joi). A JSON Schema $async validator, however, resolves with the validated data itself, so Fastify applied the same unwrapping to it. If a request part validated by an $async schema contains a value property, Fastify replaced the whole request part with that nested value before the handler ran, so a value or error property in the payload was attacker-controlled. An application that dispatches operations from the validated request body could then act on data that never satisfied the route schema, leading to unauthorized state changes or disclosure. Reaching the vulnerable path requires the route to use an $async request schema.
The application does not adequately validate input before processing it, allowing unexpected values to reach sensitive code paths. Typical impact: varies by context: data corruption, logic bypass, or denial of service.
CVE-2026-84504 has a CVSS score of 8.1 (High). The vector is network-reachable, low privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (5.12.2); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
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.
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Fastify no longer treats an asynchronous validation result as a { value, error } wrapper: an async validator's resolved value is used only to determine pass or fail, and it can no longer replace the request part or inject an error. The synchronous custom-compiler contract is unchanged. Patched in fastify 5.12.2 and 6.0.0.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2026-84504? CVE-2026-84504 is a high-severity improper input validation vulnerability in fastify (npm), affecting versions < 5.12.2. It is fixed in 5.12.2. The application does not adequately validate input before processing it, allowing unexpected values to reach sensitive code paths.
- How severe is CVE-2026-84504? CVE-2026-84504 has a CVSS score of 8.1 (High). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Which versions of fastify are affected by CVE-2026-84504? fastify (npm) versions < 5.12.2 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2026-84504? Yes. CVE-2026-84504 is fixed in 5.12.2. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2026-84504 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-84504 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-2026-84504 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-2026-84504? Upgrade
fastifyto 5.12.2 or later.