CVE-2026-18446
fast-uri before 4.1.2, 3.1.5, and 2.4.4 requires a literal double forward slash to recognize a URI authority, so a reference that uses a backslash based introducer in place of it (backslash backslash, forward slash backslash, or backslash forward slash) is parsed with no authority and folds into the path. Node's native WHATWG URL parser instead treats a backslash as interchangeable with a forward slash for special schemes, so the two parsers extract different hosts from the same input. Applications that use fast-uri to enforce host based policy such as allowlists, SSRF filtering, or redirect validation before passing the same URL into Node's URL or fetch consumers can be steered to an unintended host. Upgrade to fast-uri 4.1.2, 3.1.5, or 2.4.4.
No public exploitation has been reported so far. No distribution fix is listed yet; apply vendor mitigations and monitor.
Recommended action: Track your distribution's security tracker and apply the fix as soon as it ships.
Severity metrics
CVSS 3.1 : 7.5 HIGH
Vector: AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
Affected & fixed versions by distribution
Versions are the native distribution strings (backport-aware): RHEL/Debian/SUSE backport fixes, so compare with the distro version comparator (dpkg / rpm / vercmp), not the upstream version.
No affected package in the tracked watchlist yet (Debian, Ubuntu, Arch, SUSE, Red Hat...). Triage may still be pending.