Pingora HTTP/2 server memory exhaustion through unbounded default header-list and concurrent-stream limits

CISA KEV is observed exploitation evidence. FIRST EPSS is a dated prediction of exploitation in the next 30 days. Missing scores are unknown. This collector requests predictions only for explicit CVE aliases in the public NuGet archive; Microsoft release views retain their existing prediction scope.

No collected risk observation for these identifiers. This does not establish absence of exploitation or a zero probability.

Summary Before version 0.8.1, Pingora's HTTP/2 server used the h2 crate's default limits unless the application set its own 16 MiB decoded header-list size and no limit on concurrent streams. A remote, unauthenticated client can send 1-byte HPACK references to a near-empty header, making the server allocate hundreds of thousands of header fields per stream across an unlimited number of streams on one connection, and use HTTP/2 flow control to keep those streams open. This can exhaust memory and degrade or terminate the Pingora process. Impact Remote, unauthenticated denial of service against any Pingora service that terminates HTTP/2 (h2 or h2c) without explicitly setting max_header_list_size and max_concurrent_streams. The reporter showed that a single connection could get a Pingora process with a 2 GiB memory limit OOM-killed. Note that Cloudflare CDN customers were unaffected, as internal Pingora services at Cloudflare do not have HTTP/2 clients. Mitigation: * Upgrade to pingora 0.8.1 or later (fix: https://github.com/cloudflare/pingora/commit/d193c8d49b8b7c1c1ede93183759caa4f6906bbd ). When no H2Options are supplied, Pingora now advertises and enforces a 64 KiB decoded header-list limit and at most 100 concurrent streams per connection. * Applications that supply their own H2Options are not covered by these defaults and must set max_header_list_size and max_concurrent_streams explicitly (this also works on versions before 0.8.1), or, on 0.8.1 and later, start from pingora_core::protocols::http::v2::server::default_h2_options(). H2Options::default() does not include these limits.

Source published

20 Oct 2026 00:40:27 UTC

Source modified

20 Oct 2026 19:20:35 UTC

Observed here

23 Oct 2026 15:48:27 UTC

Source terms

CVE Program Terms of Use

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CVSS 3.1 · 7.5 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Summary Before version 0.8.1, Pingora's HTTP/2 server used the h2 crate's default limits unless the application set its own 16 MiB decoded header-list size and no limit on concurrent streams. A remote, unauthenticated client can send 1-byte HPACK references to a near-empty header, making the server allocate hundreds of thousands of header fields per stream across an unlimited number of streams on one connection, and use HTTP/2 flow control to keep those streams open. This can exhaust memory and degrade or terminate the Pingora process. Impact Remote, unauthenticated denial of service against any Pingora service that terminates HTTP/2 (h2 or h2c) without explicitly setting max_header_list_size and max_concurrent_streams. The reporter showed that a single connection could get a Pingora process with a 2 GiB memory limit OOM-killed. Note that Cloudflare CDN customers were unaffected, as internal Pingora services at Cloudflare do not have HTTP/2 clients. Mitigation: * Upgrade to pingora 0.8.1 or later (fix: https://github.com/cloudflare/pingora/commit/d193c8d49b8b7c1c1ede93183759caa4f6906bbd ). When no H2Options are supplied, Pingora now advertises and enforces a 64 KiB decoded header-list limit and at most 100 concurrent streams per connection. * Applications that supply their own H2Options are not covered by these defaults and must set max_header_list_size and max_concurrent_streams explicitly (this also works on versions before 0.8.1), or, on 0.8.1 and later, start from pingora_core::protocols::http::v2::server::default_h2_options(). H2Options::default() does not include these limits.

Source published

Oct 20, 2026, 12:40:27 AM (timezone not stated)

Source modified

Oct 20, 2026, 7:20:35 PM (timezone not stated)

Observed here

7 Nov 2026 04:28:36 UTC

Source terms

ENISA EUVD · source terms and attribution apply

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This view projects the publisher's source fields for reading; the original JSON retains additional fields and CVE enrichment containers. Attribution: euvd · ENISA EUVD · source terms and attribution apply. Source text is retained; field grouping and change labels are provided by ChangeIntel.

EUVD CVSS 3.1 · 7.5 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Summary Before version 0.8.1, Pingora's HTTP/2 server used the h2 crate's default limits unless the application set its own 16 MiB decoded header-list size and no limit on concurrent streams. A remote, unauthenticated client can send 1-byte HPACK references to a near-empty header, making the server allocate hundreds of thousands of header fields per stream across an unlimited number of streams on one connection, and use HTTP/2 flow control to keep those streams open. This can exhaust memory and degrade or terminate the Pingora process. Impact Remote, unauthenticated denial of service against any Pingora service that terminates HTTP/2 (h2 or h2c) without explicitly setting max_header_list_size and max_concurrent_streams. The reporter showed that a single connection could get a Pingora process with a 2 GiB memory limit OOM-killed. Note that Cloudflare CDN customers were unaffected, as internal Pingora services at Cloudflare do not have HTTP/2 clients. Mitigation: * Upgrade to pingora 0.8.1 or later (fix: https://github.com/cloudflare/pingora/commit/d193c8d49b8b7c1c1ede93183759caa4f6906bbd ). When no H2Options are supplied, Pingora now advertises and enforces a 64 KiB decoded header-list limit and at most 100 concurrent streams per connection. * Applications that supply their own H2Options are not covered by these defaults and must set max_header_list_size and max_concurrent_streams explicitly (this also works on versions before 0.8.1), or, on 0.8.1 and later, start from pingora_core::protocols::http::v2::server::default_h2_options(). H2Options::default() does not include these limits.

Source published

20 Oct 2026 01:17:09 UTC

Source modified

20 Oct 2026 20:17:11 UTC

Observed here

26 Oct 2026 11:36:25 UTC

Source terms

NIST NVD usage terms; underlying source attribution retained

Original source record · Cite this exact observation · Complete original publisher JSON

This view projects the publisher's source fields for reading; the original JSON retains additional fields and CVE enrichment containers. Attribution: nvd · NIST NVD usage terms; underlying source attribution retained. Source text is retained; field grouping and change labels are provided by ChangeIntel.

CVSS 3.1 · [email protected] · Secondary · 7.5 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Pingora versions prior to 0.8.1 used the h2 crate's default HTTP/2 server limits, a 16 MiB decoded header-list size and no limit on concurrent streams, unless the application set its own. A remote, unauthenticated client can send 1-byte HPACK references to a near-empty header, making the server allocate hundreds of thousands of header fields per stream across an unlimited number of streams on one connection, and use HTTP/2 flow control to keep those streams open. This can exhaust memory and degrade or terminate the Pingora process. This affects any Pingora service that terminates HTTP/2 (h2 or h2c) without explicitly setting `max_header_list_size` and `max_concurrent_streams`. The reporter showed that a single connection could get a Pingora process with a 2 GiB memory limit OOM-killed. This flaw was corrected in commit d193c8d49b8b7c1c1ede93183759caa4f6906bbd. When no `H2Options` are supplied, Pingora now advertises and enforces a 64 KiB decoded header-list limit and at most 100 concurrent streams per connection. Users should upgrade to Pingora >= 0.8.1. Applications that supply their own `H2Options` are not covered by these defaults and must set `max_header_list_size` and `max_concurrent_streams` explicitly, or start from `pingora_core::protocols::http::v2::server::default_h2_options()`. `H2Options::default()` does not include these limits. Note: Cloudflare CDN customers were unaffected, as internal Pingora services at Cloudflare do not have HTTP/2 clients.

Source published

20 Oct 2026 12:00:00 UTC

Source modified

26 Oct 2026 11:15:11 UTC

Observed here

26 Oct 2026 11:36:11 UTC

Source terms

OSV · upstream source license applies

Original source record · Cite this exact observation · Complete original publisher JSON

This view projects the publisher's source fields for reading; the original JSON retains additional fields and CVE enrichment containers. Attribution: osv · OSV · upstream source license applies. Source text is retained; field grouping and change labels are provided by ChangeIntel.

CVSS_V4 · CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N