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Full vulnerability report · 2026
CVE-2026-44289High confidence

protobufjs: Denial of service through unbounded protobuf recursion

protobufjs · protobuf.js

Official source article: GitHub GHSA-685M-2W69-288Q ↗. Check the applicable product and release in the original source.

7.5HighCVSS 3.1
Recommended action
Within 7 days

High technical severity; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.

Patch available
R
Operational reassessment

Published severity in operational context

Open reassessment dashboard →
Published severityHighOperational priority:High, unchanged from published severity.unchanged

Evidence used

  • No CISA KEV confirmation is currently recorded.
  • The selected CVSS metric records a network-reachable, unauthenticated path with no user interaction.
  • EPSS is 0.68% for the current model date.

Compensating controls

  • Validate the affected product branch and deploy the verified fixed release.
  • Restrict the affected network interface to trusted sources where business-safe.
  • Monitor vendor guidance and exploitation sources for a material change.

Verification

  1. Confirm that the asset runs protobufjs protobuf.js and falls inside the recorded affected range.
  2. Verify the installed build against the product-specific fixed version after deployment.
  3. Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
  4. Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
Mitigation target: Within 30 daysRemediation target: Within 180 days

This automated reassessment organises public evidence. It does not know asset exposure, business impact or control effectiveness and does not replace CVSS or a human risk decision.

Open-source package ranges4 source-attributed ranges

These OSV and GitHub advisory ranges apply only to the named package and ecosystem. A listed fixed version is not a universal product patch or proof that an update is installed.

Ecosystem and packageAffected rangeFirst fixed versionEvidence
npmprotobufjs<= 7.5.57.5.6GitHub advisory ↗upstream repository advisory · 14 May 2026
npmprotobufjs>= 8.0.0, <= 8.0.18.0.2GitHub advisory ↗upstream repository advisory · 14 May 2026
npmprotobufjsSEMVER: introduced 0; fixed 7.5.67.5.6OSV record ↗aggregator derived · 10 Sep 2026
npmprotobufjsSEMVER: introduced 8.0.0; fixed 8.0.28.0.2OSV record ↗aggregator derived · 10 Sep 2026
Direct vendor intelligence

Authoritative vendor CSAF and VEX advisories

Structured product status and remediation from the issuing vendor. Product-state explanations are always visible; large lists can be searched or downloaded.

1 current
CVE-2026-44289 · CSAF 2.0 · revision 3 · finalRed Hat Product Securityprotobufjs: protobufjs: Denial of Service via uncontrolled recursion in protobuf decoding
8 known affected

The vendor explicitly identifies these products as affected by this CVE.

  • openshift-pipelines/pipelines-console-plugin-rhel8 as a component of OpenShift Pipelines
  • openshift-pipelines/pipelines-console-plugin-rhel9 as a component of OpenShift Pipelines
  • rhceph/alloy-rhel10 as a component of Red Hat Ceph Storage 9
  • rhelai3/bootc-cuda-rhel9 as a component of Red Hat Enterprise Linux AI (RHEL AI) 3
  • rhelai3/bootc-gaudi-rhel9 as a component of Red Hat Enterprise Linux AI (RHEL AI) 3
  • rhelai3/bootc-rocm-rhel9 as a component of Red Hat Enterprise Linux AI (RHEL AI) 3
  • rhelai3/disk-image-cuda-rhel9 as a component of Red Hat Enterprise Linux AI (RHEL AI) 3
  • rhoai/odh-mod-arch-eval-hub-rhel9 as a component of Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI)
Summary
A flaw was found in protobufjs, a library that compiles protobuf definitions into JavaScript functions. A remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a specially crafted protobuf binary payload. This payload could cause uncontrolled recursion during the decoding of nested protobuf data, leading to the exhaustion of the JavaScript call stack. This ultimately results in a Denial of Service (DoS) for applications using the affected library.
Remediation
For more about Ansible plugins for Red Hat Developer Hub, see References links
Optional official sources

National CERT insights
?CERT means Computer Emergency Response Team; CSIRT is the closely related term Computer Security Incident Response Team.

Choose official national sources for this report. Each advisory shows its original language. Your selection is remembered on this device and included in shared links.

Official European source

ENISA European Vulnerability Database

Official EUVD identifiers, advisory evidence and known-exploited context. Missing fields are not treated as evidence of low risk.

1 current
ENISA EUVD identifier

EUVD-2026-30027

No EUVD known-exploited evidence

protobufjs compiles protobuf definitions into JavaScript (JS) functions. Prior to 7.5.6 and 8.0.2, protobufjs could recurse without a depth limit while decoding nested protobuf data. This affected both skipping unknown group fields and generated decoding of nested message fields. A crafted protobuf binary payload could cause the JavaScript call stack to be exhausted during decoding. This vulnerability is fixed in 7.5.6 and 8.0.2.

EUVD state
Present in the current official mapping
Known exploitation
Not present in the current ENISA EUVD known-exploited dataset. This is not proof of no exploitation.
ENISA score
7.5 · CVSS 3.1
Advisory evidence
No linked advisory details stored yet
Recommended actionWithin 7 days

High technical severity; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.

Patch available
01

What, why and how

protobufjs compiles protobuf definitions into JavaScript (JS) functions. Prior to 7.5.6 and 8.0.2, protobufjs could recurse without a depth limit while decoding nested protobuf data. This affected both skipping unknown group fields and generated decoding of nested message fields. A crafted protobuf binary payload could cause the JavaScript call stack to be exhausted during decoding. This vulnerability is fixed in 7.5.6 and 8.0.2.

What

protobufjs compiles protobuf definitions into JavaScript (JS) functions. Prior to 7.5.6 and 8.0.2, protobufjs could recurse without a depth limit while decoding nested protobuf data. This affected both skipping unknown group fields and generated decoding of nested message fields. A crafted protobuf binary payload could cause the JavaScript call stack to be exhausted during decoding. This vulnerability is fixed in 7.5.6 and 8.0.2.

Why

The product does not properly control the amount of recursion that takes place, consuming excessive resources, such as allocated memory or the program stack.

How

An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation without authentication or user interaction. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.

What

protobufjs compiles protobuf definitions into JavaScript (JS) functions. Prior to 7.5.6 and 8.0.2, protobufjs could recurse without a depth limit while decoding nested protobuf data. This affected both skipping unknown group fields and generated decoding of nested message fields. A crafted protobuf binary payload could cause the JavaScript call stack to be exhausted during decoding. This vulnerability is fixed in 7.5.6 and 8.0.2.

Why

The product does not properly control the amount of recursion that takes place, consuming excessive resources, such as allocated memory or the program stack.

How

An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation without authentication or user interaction. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.

02

Exploit reality and attack path

CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.

Observed exploitation
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
No confirmed evidence

No CISA KEV match was present at the last successful refresh. This means no confirmation from that source, not proof of no exploitation.

Public PoC / exploit material
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
None recorded

No exploit-tagged reference or CISA SSVC proof-of-concept state is currently recorded. Research may still exist outside the structured feeds.

Likely attack path
a network path → Uncontrolled Recursion → cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor
Attack surface
Network
Privileges required
None: unauthenticated exploitation is possible
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
Security boundary
Unchanged: impact remains within the vulnerable component's security authority
Weakness
?CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness.
CWE-674 ↗

CWE-674: Uncontrolled Recursion. The product does not properly control the amount of recursion that takes place, consuming excessive resources, such as allocated memory or the program stack.

CVSS vector
?CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Common Vulnerability Scoring System 3.1: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.

AVNetworkAttack vector: The vulnerable component can be reached over a network.ACLowAttack complexity: No specialised conditions are required beyond attacker-controlled input.PRNonePrivileges required: The attacker does not need an account or existing privileges.UINoneUser interaction: No action by another user is required.SUnchangedScope: The security impact remains within the vulnerable component's authority.CNoneConfidentiality impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.INoneIntegrity impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.AHighAvailability impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.
Post-exploitation / living off the land
No specific living-off-the-land technique is confirmed in the structured sources. Monitor normal administration tools for activity inconsistent with the affected service's baseline.
NetworkUnauthenticatedCWE-674
A

Official authority intelligence

Only matched European and national findings are included. Language selectors and unavailable sources are omitted.

ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2026-30027Official EUVD mapping

protobufjs compiles protobuf definitions into JavaScript (JS) functions. Prior to 7.5.6 and 8.0.2, protobufjs could recurse without a depth limit while decoding nested protobuf data. This affected both skipping unknown group fields and generated decoding of nested message fields. A crafted protobuf binary payload could cause the JavaScript call stack to be exhausted during decoding. This vulnerability is fixed in 7.5.6 and 8.0.2.

Official EUVD record ↗
BSI · German · WID-SEC-2026-2452Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform (node-tar, linkify-it, protobufjs, brace-expansion, fast-uri, DOMPurify): Mehrere Schwachstellen

Ein entfernter, anonymer Angreifer kann mehrere Schwachstellen in Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform ausnutzen, um Sicherheitsmaßnahmen zu umgehen, Cross-Site-Scripting-Angriffe durchzuführen, Daten zu manipulieren, einen Denial-of-Service-Zustand auszulösen oder beliebigen Code auszuführen.

Official advisory ↗
Cyber Security Agency of Singapore · English · CSA-SB-20260520Security Bulletin 20 May 2026

The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore included this CVE in its official Security Bulletin 20 May 2026, published on 20 May 2026. Open the linked bulletin for the product, severity and reference information published in that issue.

Official advisory ↗
CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2026-AVI-1094Multiples vulnérabilités dans les produits IBM

ord?id=CVE-2026-43116 Référence CVE CVE-2026-43198 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-43198 Référence CVE CVE-2026-43279 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-43279 Référence CVE CVE-2026-43450 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-43450 Référence CVE CVE-2026-43499 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-43499 Référence CVE CVE-2026-43869 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-43869 Référence CVE CVE-2026-44240 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-44240 Référence CVE CVE-2026-4427 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-4427 Référence CVE CVE-2026-44288 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-44288 Référence CVE CVE-2026-44289 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-44289 Référence CVE CVE-2026-44290 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-44290 Référence CVE CVE-2026-44291 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-44291 Référence CVE CVE-2026-44292 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-44292 Référence CVE CVE-2026-44293 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-44293 Référence CVE CVE-2026-44294 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-44294 Référence CVE CVE-2026-44405 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-44405 Référence CVE CVE-2026-44417 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-44417 Référence CVE CVE-2026-44431 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=

Official advisory ↗
CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2026-AVI-0788Multiples vulnérabilités dans les produits IBM

d?id=CVE-2026-41305 Référence CVE CVE-2026-41680 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-41680 Référence CVE CVE-2026-41907 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-41907 Référence CVE CVE-2026-41988 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-41988 Référence CVE CVE-2026-42502 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-42502 Référence CVE CVE-2026-42506 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-42506 Référence CVE CVE-2026-42583 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-42583 Référence CVE CVE-2026-43284 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-43284 Référence CVE CVE-2026-44288 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-44288 Référence CVE CVE-2026-44289 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-44289 Référence CVE CVE-2026-44290 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-44290 Référence CVE CVE-2026-44291 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-44291 Référence CVE CVE-2026-44292 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-44292 Référence CVE CVE-2026-44293 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-44293 Référence CVE CVE-2026-44294 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-44294 Référence CVE CVE-2026-45740 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-45740 Référence CVE CVE-2026-46300 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-46300 Référence CVE CVE-2026-46333 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=

Official advisory ↗
JVN iPedia · Japanese · JVNDB-2026-015595protobufjs projectのprotobufjsにおける再帰制御に関する脆弱性

protobufjsはprotobuf定義をJavaScript（JS）関数にコンパイルします。バージョン7.5.6および8.0.2以前では、protobufjsがネストされたprotobufデータをデコードする際に深さ制限なしに再帰処理を行う可能性がありました。この問題は、未知のグループフィールドのスキップ処理とネストされたメッセージフィールドの生成されたデコードの両方に影響を及ぼしました。細工されたprotobufバイナリペイロードによって、デコード中にJavaScriptのコールスタックが枯渇することがありました。この脆弱性はバージョン7.5.6および8.0.2で修正されています。

Official advisory ↗
03

Patch and workaround

Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.

Status
?Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Patch available
Affected
Fixed
Action
For more about Ansible plugins for Red Hat Developer Hub, see References links
Workaround
No verified workaround is recorded. If business-safe, reduce exposure to the affected interface and allow only trusted sources until authoritative guidance is available.
04

Evidence and provenance

Published 13 May 2026 · Last source change 28 Aug 2026, 12:04 UTC · CWE-674 · Uncontrolled Recursion

CVE recordCVE.org · 5.2
CVSS sourceCNA
EPSS source
?The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.
FIRST · tracked since 2026-08-14
European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2026-30027
Product sourceVendor CSAF · Red Hat Product Security
Remediation sourceVendor CSAF · Red Hat Product Security
CWE sourceCNA
NVD statusNVD modified after enrichment

Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.

Material change intelligence

What changed after publication

View recent updates ↗
  1. Vendor guidanceAuthoritative vendor guidance changed: removed vendor advisory: access.redhat.com/RHSA-2026:60520.
    Before
    mitigation: github.com/GHSA-685m-2w69-288q · remediation: github.com/GHSA-685m-2w69-288q · vendor advisory: access.redhat.com/RHSA-2026:60520
    After
    mitigation: github.com/GHSA-685m-2w69-288q · remediation: github.com/GHSA-685m-2w69-288q
    security-advisories@github.com ↗
  2. Vendor guidanceAuthoritative vendor guidance changed: added vendor advisory: access.redhat.com/RHSA-2026:60520.
    Before
    mitigation: github.com/GHSA-685m-2w69-288q · remediation: github.com/GHSA-685m-2w69-288q
    After
    mitigation: github.com/GHSA-685m-2w69-288q · remediation: github.com/GHSA-685m-2w69-288q · vendor advisory: access.redhat.com/RHSA-2026:60520
    security-advisories@github.com ↗
  3. Affected versionsThe structured affected or fixed version information changed.
    Before
    < 7.5.6; >= 8.0.0, < 8.0.2 · Fixed: No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
    After
    < 7.5.6; >= 8.0.0, < 8.0.2 · Fixed: For more about Ansible plugins for Red Hat Developer Hub, see References links
    Red Hat Product Security ↗
  4. Remediation statusRemediation status changed from Mitigation available to Patch available.
    Before
    Mitigation available
    After
    Patch available
    Red Hat Product Security ↗
Material fields only · duplicate refreshes suppressed · history retained for the configured operational retention period
CVE published
Mitigation reference recorded
Fixed release recorded from official guidance
ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2026-30027↗Red Hat Product Security security advisory↗CVE authority or vendor reference · GitHub GHSA-685M-2W69-288Q↗Official CVE record (CNA and ADP data)↗NVD record↗
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
CVE
Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
CVSS
Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
EPSS
Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
CWE
Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
CNA
CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
CISA ADP
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
NVD
National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
CERT / CSIRT
A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
PoC
Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
CSAF
Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
LoTL
Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.
Free version - for non-commercial use only.CVE-2026-44289 · cve.blacktree.nl