GitHub Advisoryadvisory · npm
GHSA-m34p-749j-x6m6 js-toml has silent type confusion via falsy-primitive duplicate-key bypass
MEDIUM
Official page ↗
- Aliases
- CVE-2026-50029
- Ecosystem
- npm
- Packages
- js-toml
- Severity
- Moderate
- CVSS vector
- CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
- Weaknesses
- CWE-697
- Reviewed
- 2026-06-26
Affected packages
• npm js-toml: < 1.1.2 → fixed in 1.1.2
Description
Summary
`js-toml`'s interpreter checks whether a key already exists in a parser-built container with `if (object[key])` instead of `if (key in object)`. When the prior value is a falsy primitive — `false`, `0`, `0n`, `0.0`, `-0`, or `""` — the duplicate-key branch is skipped and the value is silently overwritten by a later sub-table, dotted-key sub-table, or array-of-tables sharing the same name. Per the TOML 1.0.0 spec ("Defining a key multiple times is invalid"; "You cannot define any key or table more than once"), this should be a parse error.
The result is structural type confusion of attacker-named keys in the value returned by `load()`. A boolean-typed `false` (or numeric `0`) becomes a truthy object. Host applications that gate behavior on `if (config.flag)`, `if (!user.banned)`, `if (config.allowDelete)`, or `if (config.publicMode)` will silently take the truthy branch.
This is distinct from GHSA-65fc-cr5f-v7r2 (the 1.0.2 prototype-pollution fix). `Object.prototype` is not polluted. The `Object.create(null)` mitigation from 1.0.2 is intact; the bug here is in the duplicate-key state machine, not in container construction.
Details
Two truthy checks are wrong:
`src/load/interpreter.ts:214` — `Interpreter.tryCreatingObject`
```js
if (object[key]) { // falsy primitives slip through
// duplicate-key logic
} else {
object[key] = createSafeObject(); // silently overwrites the prior falsy value
...
}
```
`src/load/interpreter.ts:278` — `Interpreter.getOrCreateArray`
```js
if (object[first] && !Array.isArray(object[first])) { // same flaw
throw new DuplicateKeyError();
}
object[first] = object[first] || []; // overwrites the prior falsy value
```
Both should use the `in` operator. Containers are created via `Object.create(null)`, so `in` is unambiguous (no inherited keys to worry about).
The bug is reachable through every parent-walking interpreter path:
• `assignValue` — dotted keys in `key = value`
• `createTable` — `[stdTable]` headers
• `getOrCreateArray` — `[[arrayOfTables]]` headers
PoC
```toml
isAdmin = false
[isAdmin]
forced = "yes"
```
```js
import { load } from 'js-toml';
const config = load(`
isAdmin = false
[isAdmin]
forced = "yes"
`);
console.log(JSON.stringify(config));
// {"isAdmin":{"forced":"yes"}}
console.log(config.isAdmin ? 'BYPASS' : 'safe');
// BYPASS
if (config.isAdmin) {
// attacker reaches admin-only code
}
```
Impact
Spec-violating input acceptance leading to structural type confusion. (CWE-697)
Suggested fix
in `src/load/interpreter.ts`
```diff
export class Interpreter extends BaseCstVisitor {
ignoreImplicitDeclared,
ignoreExplicitDeclared
) {
• if (object[key]) {
+ if (key in object) {
if (
!isPlainObject(object[key]) ||
(!ignoreExplicitDeclared &&
```
```diff
export class Interpreter extends BaseCstVisitor {
return this.getOrCreateArray(keys, object[first], idx + 1);
}
• if (object[first] && !Array.isArray(object[first])) {
+ if (first in object && !Array.isArray(object[first])) {
throw new DuplicateKeyError();
}
object[first] = object[first] || [];
```
Related
Alias · CVE (1)
- CVE-2026-50029 js-toml is a TOML parser for JavaScript, Prior to version 1.1.2, the interpreter checks whether a key already exists in a parser-built… vulnerability
Weakness · CWE (1)
- CWE-697 Incorrect Comparison weakness