Prototype Pollution Detection

When to Use

Audit merge/clone/deep-assign utilities, query string parsers, JSON parsers, config mergers, and any package that recursively sets object properties from untrusted input.

Key insight: Only ~50% acceptance rate. Must demonstrate REAL impact beyond just polluting prototype.

Process

Step 1: Find Object Manipulation Sinks

grep -rn "Object\.assign\|Object\.defineProperty\|Object\.create" .
grep -rn "merge\|extend\|deepMerge\|deepExtend\|deepAssign\|mixin" .
grep -rn "clone\|deepClone\|cloneDeep\|deepCopy" .
grep -rn "set\|setPath\|setValue\|lodash\.set\|_.set" .
grep -rn "\[.*\]\s*=" . --include="*.js"  # Bracket notation assignment

Step 2: Check for Recursive Property Setting

Look for patterns where object keys from user input are used as property paths:

// VULNERABLE: recursive merge without key filtering
function merge(target, source) {
  for (const key in source) {
    if (typeof source[key] === 'object') {
      target[key] = merge(target[key] || {}, source[key]);
    } else {
      target[key] = source[key];
    }
  }
}

Step 3: Check Key Filtering

grep -rn "__proto__\|constructor\|prototype" . | grep -i "filter\|block\|skip\|ignore\|reject"
grep -rn "Object\.create(null)" .  # Null prototype objects are safe
grep -rn "hasOwnProperty\|Object\.keys\|Object\.entries" .

Step 4: Assess Impact

Prototype pollution alone is often not enough. Look for impact:

• DoS: Polluted property causes TypeError crash (toString, valueOf)
• Property injection: Polluted property affects security logic (isAdmin, role, auth)
• Gadget chains: Polluted property reaches dangerous sink (eval, template)
• Method clobbering: toString/valueOf overwritten causing crash

Dangerous Keys

Key	Effect	Impact
__proto__	Sets properties on Object.prototype	All objects affected
constructor.prototype	Same effect via constructor chain	All objects affected
constructor	Overwrites constructor reference	Type confusion
toString	Overwrites string conversion	TypeError on string operations
valueOf	Overwrites value conversion	TypeError on comparisons
hasOwnProperty	Overwrites property check	Logic bypass

CVSS Guidance

• Proto pollution + RCE gadget chain: CRITICAL 9.8
• Proto pollution + auth bypass: HIGH 8.1
• Proto pollution + DoS (crash): HIGH 7.5
• Proto pollution with no demonstrated impact: MEDIUM 5.3 (often rejected)

References

• Sinks -- Object manipulation sinks
• False Positive Indicators
• PoC Skeleton