CVE-2026-119283
Description
A flaw was found in joserfc. When decrypting a JSON Web Encryption (JWE) object, the library fails to limit the number of recipient entries processed in a single request. A remote, unauthenticated attacker can exploit this flaw by sending a crafted JWE token with an arbitrarily large recipients array, forcing the server to perform numerous intensive cryptographic operations. This can exhaust system CPU resources, leading to a Denial of Service (DoS).
Statement
This vulnerability is rated as an Important severity for Red Hat products because an unauthenticated remote attacker can exhaust application server CPU resources through highly asymmetric cryptographic workloads without needing prior access. Services handling encrypted JOSE tokens are exposed if their endpoints accept arbitrary general JSON serialization structures with unconstrained recipient lists. While data confidentiality and system integrity remain uncompromised, affected containerized services and backend components may experience severe responsiveness degradation or complete denial of service.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 7.5 | N/A | 7.5 |
| Attack Vector | Network | N/A | Network |
| Attack Complexity | Low | N/A | Low |
| Privileges Required | None | N/A | None |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | None |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | None | N/A | None |
| Integrity Impact | None | N/A | None |
| Availability Impact | High | N/A | High |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Resource Consumption (CPU)
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