CVE-2026-8468: CWE-770 Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling in elixir-plug plug
Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling vulnerability in plug_project plug allows denial of service via unbounded buffer accumulation in multipart header parsing. 'Elixir.Plug.Conn':read_part_headers/2 in lib/plug/conn.ex does not obey its :length parameter. There is no upper bound on the size of the accumulated buffer. By contrast, the sibling function read_part_body has an explicit byte_size(acc) > length guard that stops accumulation once a limit is reached. No such guard exists in read_part_headers. An unauthenticated remote attacker can exhaust server memory by sending a crafted multipart/form-data request, causing a denial of service. This issue affects plug from 1.4.0 before 1.15.4, 1.16.3, 1.17.1, 1.18.2, and 1.19.2.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
The vulnerability CVE-2026-8468 in elixir-plug's plug component arises from the read_part_headers/2 function in lib/plug/conn.ex not enforcing an upper bound on the size of the accumulated buffer during multipart header parsing. Unlike the sibling function read_part_body, which stops accumulation once a specified length is exceeded, read_part_headers lacks this guard. This allows an attacker to send a crafted multipart/form-data request that causes unbounded memory allocation, leading to denial of service. The issue affects plug versions from 1.4.0 before 1.15.4, 1.16.3, 1.17.1, 1.18.2, and 1.19.2. No official fix or patch is currently documented.
Potential Impact
An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit this vulnerability to cause a denial of service by exhausting server memory through sending specially crafted multipart/form-data requests. This can disrupt availability of services relying on the affected plug versions. There is no indication of confidentiality or integrity impact. No known exploits in the wild have been reported.
Mitigation Recommendations
Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the vendor advisory for current remediation guidance. Until an official fix is released, consider implementing application-level request size limits or filtering multipart/form-data requests to mitigate potential exploitation. Monitor vendor channels for updates on patches or official mitigations.
CVE-2026-8468: CWE-770 Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling in elixir-plug plug
Description
Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling vulnerability in plug_project plug allows denial of service via unbounded buffer accumulation in multipart header parsing. 'Elixir.Plug.Conn':read_part_headers/2 in lib/plug/conn.ex does not obey its :length parameter. There is no upper bound on the size of the accumulated buffer. By contrast, the sibling function read_part_body has an explicit byte_size(acc) > length guard that stops accumulation once a limit is reached. No such guard exists in read_part_headers. An unauthenticated remote attacker can exhaust server memory by sending a crafted multipart/form-data request, causing a denial of service. This issue affects plug from 1.4.0 before 1.15.4, 1.16.3, 1.17.1, 1.18.2, and 1.19.2.
CVSS v4.0
Score 8.2high
Weaknesses
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
The vulnerability CVE-2026-8468 in elixir-plug's plug component arises from the read_part_headers/2 function in lib/plug/conn.ex not enforcing an upper bound on the size of the accumulated buffer during multipart header parsing. Unlike the sibling function read_part_body, which stops accumulation once a specified length is exceeded, read_part_headers lacks this guard. This allows an attacker to send a crafted multipart/form-data request that causes unbounded memory allocation, leading to denial of service. The issue affects plug versions from 1.4.0 before 1.15.4, 1.16.3, 1.17.1, 1.18.2, and 1.19.2. No official fix or patch is currently documented.
Potential Impact
An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit this vulnerability to cause a denial of service by exhausting server memory through sending specially crafted multipart/form-data requests. This can disrupt availability of services relying on the affected plug versions. There is no indication of confidentiality or integrity impact. No known exploits in the wild have been reported.
Mitigation Recommendations
Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the vendor advisory for current remediation guidance. Until an official fix is released, consider implementing application-level request size limits or filtering multipart/form-data requests to mitigate potential exploitation. Monitor vendor channels for updates on patches or official mitigations.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- EEF
- Date Reserved
- 2026-05-13T11:44:42.164Z
- Cvss Version
- 4.0
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Remediation Level
- null
Threat ID: 6a05a966ec166c07b0b50284
Added to database: 5/14/2026, 10:52:22 AM
Last enriched: 5/28/2026, 8:11:12 PM
Last updated: 6/5/2026, 1:00:37 PM
Views: 51
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