protobufjs: Denial of Service via infinite loop in .proto option parsing
protobufjs compiles protobuf definitions into JavaScript (JS) functions. Prior to 7.6.5 and 8.6.6, protobufjs parsed option names by advancing through schema tokens until reaching an = token without checking for end of input, so a crafted .proto schema that opens an option declaration and ends prematurely can cause parse, Root.load, or Root.loadSync to loop indefinitely. This issue is fixed in versions 7.6.5 and 8.6.6.
- Published
- Jul 8, 2026
- Updated
- Jul 10, 2026
- EPSS
- 0.7% · 50th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-835
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Report tools
Action score
30
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 30 / 40 · 7.5 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 0 / 30 · 0.7%
CISA SSVC decision
- Exploitation
- none
- Automatable
- yes
- Technical impact
- partial
Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.
CNA vs NVD score
- NVD
- 7.5
- CNA · GitHub_M
- 5.3
- 2.2 point gap
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.
Noroxi analysis
No Noroxi analysis for this record yet
We don't hand-write analysis for the hundreds of thousands of vulnerabilities in the database; that wouldn't be honest. For notable, high-impact vulnerabilities our team writes the mechanism, detection and remediation steps.
We use this product, ask for helpAffected systems
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| protobufjs project | protobufjs | cpe:2.3:a:protobufjs_project:protobufjs |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- protobufjs project protobufjsbefore 7.6.5
- protobufjs project protobufjs8.0.0 and later · before 8.6.6
Versions reported by the vendor
Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (GitHub_M). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.
protobufjs protobuf.js
- >= 7.5.0, < 7.6.5, >= 8.0.0, < 8.6.6affected
Package-level exposure
OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| npm | protobufjs | from 7.5.0 · before 7.6.5 | 7.6.5 |
| npm | protobufjs | from 8.0.0 · before 8.6.6 | 8.6.6 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:10.2 | rh-podman-desktop | before 0:1.1.2-1.el10_2 | 0:1.1.2-1.el10_2 |
Same product
protobufjs project: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2023-36665"protobuf.js (aka protobufjs) 6.10.0 through 7.x before 7.2.5 allows Prototype Pollution, a different vulnerability than CVE-2022-25878.40Plan
- CVE-2026-41242protobufjs has an arbitrary code execution issue37Monitor
- CVE-2026-44291protobufjs: Code generation gadget after prototype pollution32Monitor
- CVE-2022-25878The package protobufjs before 6.11.3 are vulnerable to Prototype Pollution which can allow an attacker to add/modify properties of the Objec31Monitor
- CVE-2026-48712protobufjs: Denial of service through unbounded Any expansion during JSON conversion30Monitor
- CVE-2026-45740protobufjs: Denial of Service via unbounded recursive JSON descriptor expansion30Monitor
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
| Product / package | Fixed version | Source |
|---|---|---|
| npm:protobufjs | 7.6.5 | Package registry (OSV) |
| npm:protobufjs | 8.6.6 | Package registry (OSV) |
| red hat:rh-podman-desktop | 0:1.1.2-1.el10_2 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:10.2 | Package registry (OSV) |
Exploit status
No known public exploit
No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.
Research context
For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.
Timeline
From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.
No dated events beyond publication.
FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
Credits
All researchersFinders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.
No credits in the CNA record.
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
No nightly-computed relations.
Chain candidates
An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.
—
Bug bounty scope
No known public program.
Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).
Technical details
Attack conditions
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
- No account or password is required.
- No user action is required.
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- none
- Integrity
- none
- Availability
- high · the service can be disrupted
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality impact
- None
- Integrity impact
- None
- Availability impact
- High
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-835 · Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop')CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
nvd-primary
Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.
Change log
- Fix✗ → ✓
For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →
References
- github.com/protobufjs/protobuf.js/commit/10fba6d54815ceecca8a06b9a6db490c8f5d2217
- github.com/protobufjs/protobuf.js/commit/fa5c73add738ceb471e74da8cc2f3727c3d0a69f
- github.com/protobufjs/protobuf.js/pull/2352
- github.com/protobufjs/protobuf.js/releases/tag/protobufjs-v7.6.5
- github.com/protobufjs/protobuf.js/releases/tag/protobufjs-v8.6.6
- github.com/protobufjs/protobuf.js/security/advisories/GHSA-j3f2-48v5-ccww
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.