CVE-2026-12478
Description
The fix for CVE-2026-0716 (commit 6ff7ef0, libsoup 3.6.6) placed the integer overflow guard inside the if (masked) block, leaving unmasked server-to-client frames unprotected. A malicious WebSocket server can send a crafted unmasked frame with a payload length near UINT64_MAX to trigger an OOB read in a libsoup-based client when max_incoming_payload_size is set to 0.
Security Bulletin
Statement
This vulnerability is rated Moderate for Red Hat because it requires a non-default configuration where max_incoming_payload_size is explicitly set to 0 or unset in libsoup's WebSocket frame processing. In typical Red Hat deployments, this configuration is not enabled by default, limiting the exposure to memory disclosure or application instability.
Mitigation
To mitigate this issue, applications utilizing libsoup's WebSocket support should ensure that the `max_incoming_payload_size` is explicitly set to a non-zero value. This prevents the library from processing WebSocket frames with an unset or zero maximum payload size, which can lead to out-of-bounds reads. Consult application-specific documentation for configuring libsoup parameters.
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 | 4.8 | N/A | 4.8 |
| Attack Vector | Network | N/A | Network |
| Attack Complexity | High | N/A | High |
| Privileges Required | None | N/A | None |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | None |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | Low | N/A | Low |
| Integrity Impact | None | N/A | None |
| Availability Impact | Low | N/A | Low |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:L
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:L
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Confidentiality
Technical Impact: Read Memory
An attacker could get secret values such as cryptographic keys, PII, memory addresses, or other information that could be used in additional attacks.
Confidentiality
Technical Impact: Bypass Protection Mechanism
Out-of-bounds memory could contain memory addresses or other information that can be used to bypass ASLR and other protection mechanisms in order to improve the reliability of exploiting a separate weakness for code execution.
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart
An attacker could cause a segmentation fault or crash by causing memory to be read outside of the bounds of the buffer. This is especially likely when the code reads a variable amount of data and assumes that a sentinel exists to stop the read operation, such as a NUL in a string.
Other
Technical Impact: Varies by Context
The read operation could produce other undefined or unexpected results.
Acknowledgements
Red Hat would like to thank Adel Bouachraoui and Gerard Capdevila for reporting this issue.
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