GHSA-ghhp-3qvg-889p: websocket-driver: Memory exhaustion via abuse of protocol length headers
A vulnerability in websocket-driver prior to version 0.8.1 allows an attacker to cause memory exhaustion by abusing the protocol's length header parsing. The issue arises because the WebSocket draft protocol frame format permits encoding an arbitrarily large integer via a sequence of bytes with the high bit set. By sending a crafted sequence of such bytes, a peer can be forced to parse an ever-growing integer, causing unbounded memory consumption in the Ruby process. This can lead to the host process running out of memory and potentially crashing or becoming unresponsive. The vulnerability has been patched in version 0.8.1. No known workarounds exist.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
The websocket-driver Ruby gem contains a vulnerability (CVE-2026-54463) related to the handling of length headers in the WebSocket protocol draft frame format. The protocol allows length headers to encode arbitrarily large integers using a sequence of bytes with the high bit set. An attacker can send an indefinite sequence of bytes with values 0x80 or above, causing the receiving peer to parse these into an ever-increasing integer. Since Ruby integers are arbitrary precision, this leads to unbounded memory allocation, resulting in memory exhaustion of the host process. This vulnerability is classified under CWE-400 (Uncontrolled Resource Consumption). The issue is fixed in websocket-driver version 0.8.1.
Potential Impact
Exploitation of this vulnerability can cause the affected websocket-driver process to consume an unbounded amount of memory, potentially leading to denial of service due to out-of-memory conditions. There is no indication of privilege escalation or data disclosure. The impact is limited to resource exhaustion affecting availability.
Mitigation Recommendations
Upgrade websocket-driver to version 0.8.1 or later, where this vulnerability is patched. No known workarounds exist, so applying the official fix is required to mitigate this issue.
GHSA-ghhp-3qvg-889p: websocket-driver: Memory exhaustion via abuse of protocol length headers
Description
A vulnerability in websocket-driver prior to version 0.8.1 allows an attacker to cause memory exhaustion by abusing the protocol's length header parsing. The issue arises because the WebSocket draft protocol frame format permits encoding an arbitrarily large integer via a sequence of bytes with the high bit set. By sending a crafted sequence of such bytes, a peer can be forced to parse an ever-growing integer, causing unbounded memory consumption in the Ruby process. This can lead to the host process running out of memory and potentially crashing or becoming unresponsive. The vulnerability has been patched in version 0.8.1. No known workarounds exist.
CVSS v4.0
Affected software
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 websocket-driver Ruby gem contains a vulnerability (CVE-2026-54463) related to the handling of length headers in the WebSocket protocol draft frame format. The protocol allows length headers to encode arbitrarily large integers using a sequence of bytes with the high bit set. An attacker can send an indefinite sequence of bytes with values 0x80 or above, causing the receiving peer to parse these into an ever-increasing integer. Since Ruby integers are arbitrary precision, this leads to unbounded memory allocation, resulting in memory exhaustion of the host process. This vulnerability is classified under CWE-400 (Uncontrolled Resource Consumption). The issue is fixed in websocket-driver version 0.8.1.
Potential Impact
Exploitation of this vulnerability can cause the affected websocket-driver process to consume an unbounded amount of memory, potentially leading to denial of service due to out-of-memory conditions. There is no indication of privilege escalation or data disclosure. The impact is limited to resource exhaustion affecting availability.
Mitigation Recommendations
Upgrade websocket-driver to version 0.8.1 or later, where this vulnerability is patched. No known workarounds exist, so applying the official fix is required to mitigate this issue.
Technical Details
- Gcve Source
- db.gcve.eu
- Osv Id
- GHSA-ghhp-3qvg-889p
- Osv Schema Version
- 1.4.0
- Aliases
- ["CVE-2026-54463"]
- Ecosystems
- ["RubyGems"]
- Database Specific Severity
- MODERATE
- Cvss Version
- 4.0
Threat ID: 6a58b41268715ace43d68287
Added to database: 07/16/2026, 10:36:02 UTC
Last enriched: 07/16/2026, 10:54:50 UTC
Last updated: 07/16/2026, 11:39:08 UTC
Views: 3
Community Reviews
0 reviewsCrowdsource mitigation strategies, share intel context, and vote on the most helpful responses. Sign in to add your voice and help keep defenders ahead.
Want to contribute mitigation steps or threat intel context? Sign in or create an account to join the community discussion.
Actions
Updates to AI analysis require Pro Console access. Upgrade inside Console → Billing.
Need more coverage?
Upgrade to Pro Console for AI refresh and higher limits.
For incident response and remediation, OffSeq services can help resolve threats faster.
Latest Threats
Check if your credentials are on the dark web
Instant breach scanning across billions of leaked records. Free tier available.