NVD / CVE Program· CNA GitHub_M

CVE-2022-31018: Denial of service binding form from JSON in Play Framework

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 31/100)

The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 1.7% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 77.4% of all records.
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.
According to CISA the attack is automatable: targets can be found by mass scanning.
Fixed version: playframework playframework 2.8.16.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to playframework playframework 2.8.16 or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

Play Framework is a web framework for Java and Scala. A denial of service vulnerability has been discovered in verions 2.8.3 through 2.8.15 of Play's forms library, in both the Scala and Java APIs. This can occur when using either the `Form#bindFromRequest` method on a JSON request body or the `Form#bind` method directly on a JSON value. If the JSON data being bound to the form contains a deeply-nested JSON object or array, the form binding implementation may consume all available heap space and cause an `OutOfMemoryError`. If executing on the default dispatcher and `akka.jvm-exit-on-fatal-error` is enabled—as it is by default—then this can crash the application process. `Form.bindFromRequest` is vulnerable when using any body parser that produces a type of `AnyContent` or `JsValue` in Scala, or one that can produce a `JsonNode` in Java. This includes Play's default body parser. This vulnerability been patched in version 2.8.16. There is now a global limit on the depth of a JSON object that can be parsed, which can be configured by the user if necessary. As a workaround, applications that do not need to parse a request body of type `application/json` can switch from the default body parser to another body parser that supports only the specific type of body they expect.

HighCVSS 7.5 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available

GHSA-v8x6-59g4-5g3w

Published: Jun 2, 2022
Updated: Jun 17, 2026
EPSS: 1.7% · 77th percentile
CWE: CWE-400

Report tools

JSON

Action score

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS: 30 / 40 · 7.5 / 10
CISA KEV: 0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS: 1 / 30 · 1.7%

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: 7.5; agree

The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.

Get told when this record changes

Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
No public exploit code on record
A fix has been released

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

Running WordPress? Scan your site free with WP Lens

Is your version affected? Check it

Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

We use this product, ask for help

Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

Vendor	Product	CPE
lightbend	play framework	cpe:2.3:a:lightbend:play_framework

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

lightbend play framework2.8.3 and later · up to 2.8.15 inclusive

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.

playframework playframework
- >= 2.8.3, < 2.8.16affected

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

Ecosystem	Package	Affected range	Fix
Maven	com.typesafe.play:play_2.12	from 2.8.3 · before 2.8.16	2.8.16
Maven	com.typesafe.play:play_2.13	from 2.8.3 · before 2.8.16	2.8.16

Same product

lightbend: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

CVE-2014-3630XML external entity (XXE) vulnerability in the Java XML processing functionality in Play before 2.2.6 and 2.3.x before 2.3.5 might allow rem
40Plan
CVE-2018-13864A directory traversal vulnerability has been found in the Assets controller in Play Framework 2.6.12 through 2.6.15 (fixed in 2.6.16) when r
31Monitor
CVE-2022-31023Dev error stack trace leaking into prod in Play Framework
30Monitor

Published before and after this one in the same product

← EarlierCVE-2020-26883Nov 6, 2020 · In Play Framework 2.6.0 through 2.8.2, stack consumption can occur because of unbounded recursion during parsing of crafted JSON documents.
30Monitor
← EarlierCVE-2020-27196Nov 6, 2020 · An issue was discovered in PlayJava in Play Framework 2.6.0 through 2.8.2.
30Monitor
← EarlierCVE-2020-28923Dec 3, 2020 · An issue was discovered in Play Framework 2.8.0 through 2.8.4.
10Monitor

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
playframework playframework	2.8.16 · description	Vendor (CNA)
Maven:com.typesafe.play:play_2.12	2.8.16	Package registry (OSV)
Maven:com.typesafe.play:play_2.13	2.8.16	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.

No history yet (it accumulates with the daily EPSS job).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

playframework/playframeworkPR 11301

Credits

All researchers

Finders, 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-400 · Uncontrolled Resource Consumption

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

nvd-primary

Root cause

Code that parses nested structures sets no depth or size limit. A small input can turn into a disproportionate processing load.

The bug in code

The whole CWE-400 class

A representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.

Vulnerable

1function expand(node) {
2  return node.children.map(expand);
3}

Fixed

1const MAX_DEPTH = 32;
2function expand(node, depth = 0) {
3  if (depth > MAX_DEPTH) throw new Error("too deep");
4  return node.children.map((c) => expand(c, depth + 1));
5}

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

Attack patterns (CAPEC)

ATT&CK techniques

Endpoint Denial of ServiceT1499

Change log

Fix✗ → ✓Sep 28, 2026, 10:48 PM UTC

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

github.com/playframework/playframework/pull/11301

Show all references (2 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records