@fastify/rate-limit vulnerable to rate-limit bypass via IPv6 address rotation
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Security bypass, Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- Low · Low · Low
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-307 and CWE-770.
Summary
@fastify/rate-limit before 11.2.0 keys rate-limit buckets by the verbatim client IP string returned from request.ip. Because a single IPv6 client can control a large address range (a /64 holds 2^64 distinct addresses) and the same address has multiple valid textual representations, an IPv6 capable client can defeat the rate-limit boundary by rotating addresses or by rewriting the same address in different forms. Applications that use @fastify/rate-limit to protect endpoints such as authentication, password reset, OTP delivery, or expensive API calls can be bypassed by IPv6 clients behind a proxy that surfaces IPv6 to the origin when trustProxy is enabled. The issue is fixed in @fastify/rate-limit 11.2.0, where the default key generator normalizes IPv6 addresses to their canonical form, collapses IPv4 mapped IPv6 to IPv4, and applies a configurable prefix mask (default /64) via a new ipv6Subnet option.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- Yes
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| @fastify/rate-limit | @fastify/rate-limit | before 11.2.0 | 11.2.0 | Patch available | CNA |
- @fastify/rate-limit Vendor@fastify/rate-limit Affected before 11.2.0 Fixed in 11.2.0 Patch available CNA
Remediation
- Fix · CNA @fastify/rate-limit (@fastify/rate-limit) Fixed in 11.2.0
Vendor assessments
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-15144
- 2026-11-06 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-11-06 CVSS score added · Red Hat
References
Sources
- CVE-2026-15144 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-15144 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- CVE-2026-15144 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences