mTLS identity confusion via PFX key collisions
Published Jul 30, 2026 · Updated Jul 30, 2026
Improper authentication in Node.js 22.x, 24.x, and 26.x allows local users to reuse unintended mTLS client identities. The HTTPS Agent serializes distinct PFX object arrays into identical connection-pool keys, allowing a socket authenticated with one certificate to serve a request configured with another. Exploitation requires high-privileged local control over requests sharing an Agent and authenticates the request as the wrong configured client.
Summary
What happened
Improper authentication in Node.js 22.x, 24.x, and 26.x allows local users to reuse unintended mTLS client identities. The HTTPS Agent serializes distinct PFX object arrays into identical connection-pool keys, allowing a socket authenticated with one certificate to serve a request configured with another. Exploitation requires high-privileged local control over requests sharing an Agent and authenticates the request as the wrong configured client.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-56850
- Published
- Jul 30, 2026
- Updated
- Jul 30, 2026
- Vendor
- Node.js
- Product
- Node.js
- Classifications
- CWE-287
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- admin
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jul 30, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jul 30, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=22.23.1 <=22.23.1
- Affected versionversion=24.18.0 <=24.18.0
- Affected versionversion=26.5.0 <=26.5.0
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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