CVE-2026-44289: CWE-674: Uncontrolled Recursion in protobufjs protobuf.js
protobufjs compiles protobuf definitions into JavaScript (JS) functions. Prior to 7.5.6 and 8.0.2, protobufjs could recurse without a depth limit while decoding nested protobuf data. This affected both skipping unknown group fields and generated decoding of nested message fields. A crafted protobuf binary payload could cause the JavaScript call stack to be exhausted during decoding. This vulnerability is fixed in 7.5.6 and 8.0.2.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
protobufjs versions before 7.5.6 and 8.0.2 contain an uncontrolled recursion vulnerability (CWE-674, CWE-606) during decoding of nested protobuf data. This flaw allows a remote attacker to send a specially crafted protobuf binary payload that causes the JavaScript call stack to be exhausted, resulting in a denial of service. The vulnerability affects decoding of nested message fields and skipping unknown group fields. Red Hat advisories confirm the vulnerability and recommend upgrading to fixed versions. Mitigations include rejecting excessively nested messages or isolating decoding in restartable processes if immediate upgrade is not possible.
Potential Impact
The vulnerability allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service by exhausting the JavaScript call stack during protobuf decoding. There is no impact on confidentiality or integrity, but availability is severely affected due to application crashes or unresponsiveness. This can disrupt services relying on protobufjs for decoding protobuf data.
Mitigation Recommendations
A fix is available in protobufjs versions 7.5.6 and 8.0.2. Users should upgrade to these or later versions to remediate the vulnerability. If upgrading immediately is not feasible, avoid decoding untrusted protobuf binary data, reject excessively nested messages at protocol boundaries, or isolate protobuf decoding in a separate process that can be safely restarted. Red Hat advisories provide additional guidance and confirm the availability of fixes.
CVE-2026-44289: CWE-674: Uncontrolled Recursion in protobufjs protobuf.js
Description
protobufjs compiles protobuf definitions into JavaScript (JS) functions. Prior to 7.5.6 and 8.0.2, protobufjs could recurse without a depth limit while decoding nested protobuf data. This affected both skipping unknown group fields and generated decoding of nested message fields. A crafted protobuf binary payload could cause the JavaScript call stack to be exhausted during decoding. This vulnerability is fixed in 7.5.6 and 8.0.2.
CVSS v3.1
Score 7.5high
Affected software
protobufjs
protobuf.js
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AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
protobufjs versions before 7.5.6 and 8.0.2 contain an uncontrolled recursion vulnerability (CWE-674, CWE-606) during decoding of nested protobuf data. This flaw allows a remote attacker to send a specially crafted protobuf binary payload that causes the JavaScript call stack to be exhausted, resulting in a denial of service. The vulnerability affects decoding of nested message fields and skipping unknown group fields. Red Hat advisories confirm the vulnerability and recommend upgrading to fixed versions. Mitigations include rejecting excessively nested messages or isolating decoding in restartable processes if immediate upgrade is not possible.
Potential Impact
The vulnerability allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service by exhausting the JavaScript call stack during protobuf decoding. There is no impact on confidentiality or integrity, but availability is severely affected due to application crashes or unresponsiveness. This can disrupt services relying on protobufjs for decoding protobuf data.
Mitigation Recommendations
A fix is available in protobufjs versions 7.5.6 and 8.0.2. Users should upgrade to these or later versions to remediate the vulnerability. If upgrading immediately is not feasible, avoid decoding untrusted protobuf binary data, reject excessively nested messages at protocol boundaries, or isolate protobuf decoding in a separate process that can be safely restarted. Red Hat advisories provide additional guidance and confirm the availability of fixes.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- GitHub_M
- Date Reserved
- 2026-05-05T17:39:31.112Z
- Cvss Version
- 3.1
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Vendor Advisory Urls
- [{"url":"https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-44289","vendor":"Red Hat"}]
Threat ID: 6a049717cbff5d8610e00327
Added to database: 05/13/2026, 15:21:59 UTC
Last enriched: 08/14/2026, 14:43:13 UTC
Last updated: 09/13/2026, 22:01:34 UTC
Views: 108
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