CVE-2026-40612
Description
A flaw was found in jq, a command line JSON processor. The jv_contains function does not have a depth limit when processing nested arrays or objects. This missing depth limit allows an attacker who can supply a sufficiently nested input structure to exhaust the stack memory, causing an application crash and resulting in a denial of service.
Statement
To exploit this issue, an attacker needs to supply a crafted JSON input to be processed by jq with the jv_contains function. This allows the attacker to cause an application crash with no other security impact. Due to these reasons, this vulnerability has been rated with a moderate severity.
Mitigation
Do not process untrusted input with the jq command line JSON processor.
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).
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 5.5 | 5.5 | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Local | Local | N/A |
| Attack Complexity | Low | Low | N/A |
| Privileges Required | None | None | N/A |
| User Interaction | Required | Required | N/A |
| Scope | Unchanged | Unchanged | N/A |
| Confidentiality | None | None | N/A |
| Integrity Impact | None | None | N/A |
| Availability Impact | High | High | N/A |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
NVD: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
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