Elixir protobuf: Unbounded recursion depth in embedded-message decoding
Historical advisory recorded 23 Oct 2026 15:48:27 UTC. Read the latest advisory.
cve-program · CVE-2026-54451
PublishedElixir protobuf is a pure Elixir implementation of Google Protobuf. From 0.8.0 until 0.16.1, services that decode attacker-controlled protobuf bytes with Protobuf.Decoder can be taken offline when the schema contains a self-referential or cyclic message type. In lib/protobuf/decoder.ex, Protobuf.Decoder.value_for_field/3 handles an embedded?: true field by recursively entering the decode / build_message / handle_value / value_for_field call chain without enforcing a nesting-depth limit. Deeply nested embedded fields retain non-tail recursive frames, allowing a comparatively small request to consume substantial CPU and memory, pin a BEAM scheduler, and exhaust the node. This issue is fixed in version 0.16.1.
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cve-program · CVE-2026-54451
PublishedElixir protobuf: Unbounded recursion depth in embedded-message decoding
Elixir protobuf is a pure Elixir implementation of Google Protobuf. From 0.8.0 until 0.16.1, services that decode attacker-controlled protobuf bytes with Protobuf.Decoder can be taken offline when the schema contains a self-referential or cyclic message type. In lib/protobuf/decoder.ex, Protobuf.Decoder.value_for_field/3 handles an embedded?: true field by recursively entering the decode / build_message / handle_value / value_for_field call chain without enforcing a nesting-depth limit. Deeply nested embedded fields retain non-tail recursive frames, allowing a comparatively small request to consume substantial CPU and memory, pin a BEAM scheduler, and exhaust the node. This issue is fixed in version 0.16.1.
- Source published
- 17 Sep 2026 18:19:25 UTC
- Source modified
- 21 Sep 2026 21:03:54 UTC
- Saved here
- 23 Oct 2026 15:48:27 UTC
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- CVE Program Terms of Use
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Source: cve-program · CVE Program Terms of Use. The publisher's wording is preserved. ChangeIntel groups the information and labels changes. The JSON record includes additional source fields.
CVSS 4.0 · 8.2 CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N