CVE-2026-45740
Description
A flaw was found in protobufjs. This vulnerability allows a remote attacker to cause a Denial of Service (DoS) by providing a crafted JSON descriptor with deeply nested namespace definitions. This can lead to the exhaustion of the JavaScript call stack during descriptor loading, making the application unresponsive.
Statement
This is an Important denial of service flaw in protobufjs, which could allow a remote attacker to exhaust the JavaScript call stack by providing a specially crafted JSON descriptor with deeply nested namespace definitions. This vulnerability impacts Red Hat products that utilize protobufjs for processing protobuf definitions potentially leading to application unresponsiveness.
Mitigation
To mitigate this issue, avoid loading untrusted protobuf JSON descriptors in applications utilizing protobufjs. If untrusted descriptors must be processed, implement validation at an outer boundary to reject excessively nested structures. Alternatively, isolate the descriptor loading process in an environment that can be safely restarted in case of a 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).
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 7.5 | 7.5 | 5.3 |
| Attack Vector | Network | Network | Network |
| Attack Complexity | Low | Low | Low |
| Privileges Required | None | None | None |
| User Interaction | None | None | None |
| Scope | Unchanged | Unchanged | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | None | None | None |
| Integrity Impact | None | None | None |
| Availability Impact | High | High | Low |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
NVD: 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:L
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Resource Consumption (Other)
If parsed, recursive entity references allow the attacker to expand data exponentially, quickly consuming all system resources.
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