CVE-2026-5038: multer — Fix

Description

Impact: multer versions 2.0.0-alpha.1 through 2.1.1 and 3.0.0-alpha.1 are vulnerable to a Denial of Service when using diskStorage. Aborted or malformed multipart uploads leave orphaned partial files on disk because the Readable.pipe() call does not propagate the stream destroy signal to the underlying fs.WriteStream. An attacker can exhaust disk space by triggering many aborted uploads, with no application bug required. Patches: Users should upgrade to multer 2.2.0 (2.x line) or 3.0.0-alpha.2 (3.x prerelease). Both versions track in-flight write streams and clean them up on the abort path. Workarounds: None.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

5.3

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L

EPSS — Exploit Prediction

0.0028

Probability of exploitation

0.20%

Percentile rank

EPSS estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A higher score means more likely to be exploited.

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-459 CWE-459

Affected Products

Vendor	Product	Versions
expressjs	multer	2.0.0 — 2.2.0
expressjs	multer	All

References

Advisories & Patches

https://cna.openjsf.org/security-advisories.html https://github.com/expressjs/multer/security/advisories/GHSA-3p4h-7m6x-2hcm

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-5038? +

Impact: multer versions 2.0.0-alpha.1 through 2.1.1 and 3.0.0-alpha.1 are vulnerable to a Denial of Service when using diskStorage. Aborted or malformed multipart uploads leave orphaned partial files on disk because the Readable.pipe() call does not propagate the stream destroy signal to the underlying fs.WriteStream. An attacker can exhaust disk space by triggering many aborted uploads, with no application bug required. Patches: Users should upgrade to multer 2.2.0 (2.x line) or 3.0.0-alpha.2 (3.x prerelease). Both versions track in-flight write streams and clean them up on the abort path. Workarounds: None. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.3 (MEDIUM).

How severe is CVE-2026-5038? +

CVE-2026-5038 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 5.3 out of 10, rated MEDIUM. This is a medium-severity vulnerability that should be remediated as part of regular maintenance. The EPSS score is 0.0028, placing it in the 0th percentile for exploitation probability.

What products are affected by CVE-2026-5038? +

CVE-2026-5038 affects products from expressjs, specifically: multer. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2026-5038? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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