CVE-2026-48854: CWE-770 Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling in elixir-grpc grpc
CVE-2026-48854 is a high-severity vulnerability in elixir-grpc grpc versions 0.3.1 up to but not including 1.0.0. It allows unauthenticated attackers to exhaust server memory and crash the BEAM node by sending a large or slow-trickle unary request body. The vulnerability arises because the server accumulates incoming request chunks into a single binary without any size limit and lacks a timeout when the grpc-timeout header is omitted, enabling indefinite memory growth.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
The vulnerability in elixir-grpc grpc (versions >=0.3.1 <1.0.0) is due to the 'Elixir.GRPC.Server.Adapters.Cowboy.Handler':read_full_body/3 function accumulating all received chunks of a unary request body into a single growing binary without any size cap. Additionally, if the grpc-timeout header is missing, the per-chunk read timeout defaults to :infinity, allowing a slow-trickle client to keep the connection alive indefinitely. This combination enables an unauthenticated attacker to exhaust the BEAM's memory resources and crash the server with a single connection.
Potential Impact
An unauthenticated attacker can cause a denial of service by exhausting the server's memory, leading to a crash of the BEAM node hosting the grpc service. This impacts availability and could disrupt service operations.
Mitigation Recommendations
Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the vendor advisory for current remediation guidance. Until an official fix is available, consider implementing external request size limits and timeouts at the network or proxy level to mitigate resource exhaustion risks.
CVE-2026-48854: CWE-770 Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling in elixir-grpc grpc
Description
CVE-2026-48854 is a high-severity vulnerability in elixir-grpc grpc versions 0.3.1 up to but not including 1.0.0. It allows unauthenticated attackers to exhaust server memory and crash the BEAM node by sending a large or slow-trickle unary request body. The vulnerability arises because the server accumulates incoming request chunks into a single binary without any size limit and lacks a timeout when the grpc-timeout header is omitted, enabling indefinite memory growth.
CVSS v4.0
Score 8.7high
Affected software
cpe:2.3:a:elixir-grpc:grpc:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*Run on your own infrastructure? Check whether these packages are installed with threat-finder — our free open-source scanner.
Weaknesses
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
The vulnerability in elixir-grpc grpc (versions >=0.3.1 <1.0.0) is due to the 'Elixir.GRPC.Server.Adapters.Cowboy.Handler':read_full_body/3 function accumulating all received chunks of a unary request body into a single growing binary without any size cap. Additionally, if the grpc-timeout header is missing, the per-chunk read timeout defaults to :infinity, allowing a slow-trickle client to keep the connection alive indefinitely. This combination enables an unauthenticated attacker to exhaust the BEAM's memory resources and crash the server with a single connection.
Potential Impact
An unauthenticated attacker can cause a denial of service by exhausting the server's memory, leading to a crash of the BEAM node hosting the grpc service. This impacts availability and could disrupt service operations.
Mitigation Recommendations
Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the vendor advisory for current remediation guidance. Until an official fix is available, consider implementing external request size limits and timeouts at the network or proxy level to mitigate resource exhaustion risks.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- EEF
- Date Reserved
- 2026-05-25T20:44:10.697Z
- Cvss Version
- 4.0
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Remediation Level
- null
Threat ID: 6a307d3d0b89be6888adcd2b
Added to database: 6/15/2026, 10:31:25 PM
Last enriched: 6/15/2026, 10:45:16 PM
Last updated: 6/16/2026, 12:44:27 AM
Views: 12
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