CVE-2026-45416
Description
A flaw was found in Netty, a network application framework. A remote attacker can exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted TLS (Transport Layer Security) ClientHello message. This can lead to an eager allocation of a large memory buffer, causing a Denial of Service (DoS) due to excessive memory consumption. The issue occurs in the SslClientHelloHandler.decode() method when processing the TLS handshake length.
Statement
This vulnerability in Netty is rated as Important. It allows a remote attacker to trigger a denial of service by sending a specially crafted TLS ClientHello message. The flaw arises from an eager, unbounded memory allocation during the TLS handshake, particularly when default configurations disable the maximum client hello length guard, leading to excessive resource consumption in affected Red Hat products utilizing Netty.
Mitigation
To mitigate this issue, configure applications utilizing Netty's `SslClientHelloHandler` to specify a non-zero value for the `maxClientHelloLength` parameter. This will enable the internal length validation, preventing the eager allocation of large memory buffers when processing crafted TLS ClientHello messages. Refer to your specific application's documentation for details on configuring Netty's TLS handler. A restart of the affected application or service is required for the configuration changes to take effect.
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 | 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); DoS: Resource Consumption (Memory); DoS: Resource Consumption (Other)
When allocating resources without limits, an attacker could prevent other systems, applications, or processes from accessing the same type of resource. It can be easy for an attacker to consume many resources by rapidly making many requests or causing larger resources to be used than is needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
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