CVE-2025-49223: Prototype Pollution Vulnerability in billboard.js

Overview

This blog post introduces a severe vulnerability, CVE-2025-49223, discovered in billboard.js before version 3.15.1. The flaw, known as prototype pollution, can be exploited to execute arbitrary code or induce a Denial of Service (DoS) condition. This vulnerability primarily affects developers and organizations that extensively use billboard.js in their projects. It represents a critical security issue as it could lead to system compromise or data leakage, posing a significant risk to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of affected systems.

Vulnerability Summary

CVE ID: CVE-2025-49223
Severity: Critical (CVSS: 9.8)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: Potential system compromise or data leakage

Affected Products

Product | Affected Versions

billboard.js | before 3.15.1

How the Exploit Works

Prototype Pollution is a vulnerability that occurs when the properties of JavaScript’s “prototype” object get manipulated. JavaScript allows all objects to inherit properties and methods from a prototype. An attacker exploiting this CVE-2025-49223 vulnerability can inject arbitrary properties into billboard.js’ function generate, causing unexpected behavior in the application, such as executing arbitrary code or causing a Denial of Service (DoS).

Conceptual Example Code

The following is a conceptual example of how the vulnerability might be exploited. This pseudocode is designed to illustrate the potential exploit and does not represent an actual attack.

let obj = billboard.generate({
data: {
type: "line",
columns: [
["data1", 30, 200, 100, 400, 150, 250],
["data2", 50, 20, 10, 40, 15, 25]
]
}
});
obj.__proto__.isAdmin = true;
let user = {};
console.log(user.isAdmin); // true

In the above example, the attacker manipulates the prototype of the obj object to insert a new property, isAdmin. This property is then inherited by all new objects, potentially leading to privilege escalation, arbitrary code execution, or a DoS condition.

Mitigation Guidance

The most effective way to mitigate this vulnerability is by applying the vendor-supplied patch. Users should upgrade billboard.js to version 3.15.1 or later. As a temporary mitigation, users can implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) to detect and block attempts to exploit this vulnerability. However, this should be seen as a stopgap solution until the patch can be applied.